I Dreamed It For You
by thedopestofrainbows
Summary: Nights aren't always easy. Especially when fighting against what some call a disease with the name of sleep paralysis. Will the attractive barista, Blaine be able to help the troubled boy find some peace? Klaine, rated M for future chapters smut and gore
1. Chapter 1

_Here he was again; the sickengly sweet atmosphere with the too happy people who greeted him as he shuffled through the cobblestone streets._

_He pulled his collar from his damp neck nervously. This is always how it started and he knew it all too well. It was always the happy scene that would normally be considered the happiest of dreams. He looked around at all the familiar faces wearing the ridiculous garments his subconscious would usually whip up._

_If it were any other circumstance, he would definitely wrinkle his nose in utter confusion and ask Santana why she was wearing a ski jacket that looked as if a toddler painted it with leopard print tights and blue go-go boots._

_If it were any other circumstance that is._

_He couldn't even be bothered as the blindingly pink sun suddenly and quickly sunk behind the distant mountains. The impending dread engulfed him as his chest constricted and a thin layer of sweat coated his body. Just like always, his breath would come in shallow pants and his head would become dizzy before what seemed like a elephant would smash into him and his eyes would shoot open._

_Stop._

_He couldn't feel his body. He couldn't even feel his heart beating although he knew it was pumping blood quickly through his veins. It only disgusted him and made him feel more uncomfortable. After feeling nothing, the first feeling returned to him was that of the blood he had just been worrying about. He could feel it slither through his body, a distinct hissing sound accompanying the feeling of the grimy worms and snakes traveling within his veins._

_He felt cold and hot all at the same time as his body desperately tried to writhe in agony and to shake off the tendrils snaking around his form. His whimper would fall on deaf ears as he opened his mouth to let out a scream that would never sound._

_The vixen materializing above him held a chesire grin. Her grin widened, and her face split apart, dark and rotting blood would run over his face and a shrill laugh would fill the air, followed by the collective voices of the ones he loved. His father, Finn, Rachel, Santana, Puck. All of them would continue to scream, growing louder and louder with each passing moment. Through the screaming, he could distinctly hear muddy blood flow over him with the ease of water but with the consistency of molasses. It would fill every cavity. His mouth, his nose, eyes and ears, and he would suffocate, trying to gurgle out a strangled scream from around the thick liquid. He tried screwing his eyes shut. He always tried. And as he struggled against his invisible restraints in a desperate attempt to break away from the hell he was going through, he realized his every bout of rebellion only aggravated the demons plaguing him._

_A hiss. "Welcome to Wonderland, Kurt."_

_And suddenly, a face he had never seen before flashed in front of his eyes, contorted in hate and agony as it whispered to him._

"…_..Kurt….."_

_His sobs couldn't surface, nor could he respond._

_"Kurt."_

_He groaned, his muscles burning as he strained for control over his body._

"Kurt!"

He let out a blood-curdling, gasping scream as he was brought back to reality. Panting, he quickly scanned his surroundings with alert eyes. His gaze landed on his step-brother, who was at his bedside, worry obviously plastered on his face in the most expressive of ways.

Kurt sighed and ran a hand through his haphazard locks of hair that had let themselves loose with all the thrashing he was known to do in his sleep.

"What is it, Finn?" he groaned, his usually smooth voice shattered and shaky. His hand then scrubbed at his red and sleepless eyes, hoping to erase all visions of his horrible subconscious.

"You were just making a lot of noise. Just wanted to see if you were oka-"

"I'm fine."

The snappy reply cut Finn off, and although it was obvious that there was something wrong, Kurt always answered Finn the same way.

Always.

* * *

><p>"No, Mercedes."<p>

The flamboyant boy shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he and his best friend neared the counter of the Lima Bean.

"C'mon, Kurt! It would be girl's night! You used to _love_ girl's night!" she pleaded, tugging on his arm.

Kurt smiled softly.

"_Yeah, **used **to. That was before-"_

"Welcome to the Lima Bean! What would you like today?"

Kurt glanced up as his thoughts were interrupted by the beaming barista.

"Medium drip," Kurt mumbled as he studied the man behind the counter. His smile grew wider when he caught his glance. Caught by the other man's attractive looks, he didn't even hear what Mercedes ordered.

Taking his hands from his pocket and tapping out a text message on the small keys, Kurt couldn't keep his infectious grin from spreading.

_Remind me to start making a habit of coming to the Lima Bean – K_

He sent the text to a particularLatinaand the barista handed them their beverages.

"Thanks! Have a nice day," he said in a chipper tone, his hazel eyes locking onto sky blue ones. Kurt glanced down at his name tag.

Blaine.

"Ooh, he's definitely ALL honey and sugar!" Mercedes squealed as they sat down at a small table. Kurt batted at her arm.

"Ssh! Mercedes!" he said, unable to contain his grin even behind his cup of coffee. He glanced back up at the barista.

"I knew you were checking him out! You should go give him your number," she giggled, taking a sip from her respective cup.

Kurt rolled his eyes. Sometimes, as enthused as they are, his friends were a bit too crazy to be openly seen with in public without coming out of it feeling embarrassed.

"Mercedes, _please_. He probably isn't even gay." His eyes flickered back to him again and he gave another glance over his form. The other caught him staring and smiled, giving him a little wave. Kurt only blushed and squeaked, nearly choking on his coffee.

After coughing and assuring Mercedes his life was in no danger, she tossed him a look that questioned what that was all about.

"Anyways, Rachel was the one who suggested it, since we're all single now and some chill time would always be great, y'know?" she asked, referring to their topic of conversation earlier. Kurt only sighed.

"I don't think I can make it this time, Mercedes," he answered, hastily taking a sip from his coffee, nearly burning his tongue.

Said girl only let out a long sigh.

"Is there something wrong, boo? You don't hang out with us that much anymore," she said, leaning across the table, giving Kurt the same worried look Finn always did when he came into his room at night during a particularly bad spell. Kurt only smiled.

"We're hanging out right now, aren't we?" he said as sweetly as he could, adjusting his scarf. He could only hope not too many people would realize that underneath the concealer hiding the bags under his eyes and his practiced smile, he wasn't doing well at all. Mercedes took his answer and returned to her slouching position in her chair, bent on persuading Kurt to their occasional sleepover.

Kurt flicked his wrist towards the other. "Look, I don't think I can do a sleepover, but we can all go see a movie this weekend, comprend?" he proposed, smiling genuinely at her.

She grumbled before agreeing. Kurt's phone buzzed from in his pocket and he went to retrieve it.

_scopin' out ur men at a coffee shop, lady face? - San_

Kurt grinned as he quickly replied.

_at least I'm not checking out the way his ass moves in a Cheerios' uniform - K_

_touche little fairy but dont act like u arent thinkin' bout it - San_

A blush creeped across his face as he read the reply. Damn, she knew him well. He re-pocketed his phone and looked at Mercedes, who was wearing a smirk and sporting a devilish glint in her chocolate-hued eyes.

"What?"

"You're live bloggin' about that fine piece of eye candy at the counter, aren't you?"

His blush grew and betrayed the flabbergasted "no!" that he stuttered in response.

"Make a move!" she said with a wide grin.

Kurt shook his head, not trusting his voice.

"Well," she stood, placing her hands flat against the table, "if you won't give him your number, I think _I'll_ give him mine," she stated before marching off, her confidence pouring out of every orifice with each strut. Kurt only groaned and placed his face in one of his hands.

Was she insane? She must have been insane.

He watched the exchange as secretly as he could muster. The gentle laugh and the twinkle of the other male's speckled eyes as he heard out Mercedes's proposition didn't go unnoticed, neither did the way he shrugged his shoulders and scratched the back of his head as he made a face of apology.

He found himself grinning and put his cup up to his lips to try to hide it.

He saw Mercedes tense before returning to their table. Kurt only lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow in question when she sat down at the table defeated. She gave him a stone-cold glare.

"He like boys."

The table was not prepared for the coffee spittake that proceeded the simple statement.

* * *

><p><em>Well, alright guys~! What do you think? Deserve a few chapters? yn?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys, I am just rolling today! I can't stop! So it might be a bit confusing, but yes, Karofsky is kind of a deal and did some terrible things to Kurt, but I shan't reveal everything just yet. I also think Finn is under-reacting a little. Well, alot.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I forgot to make that painfully obvious statement in chapter 1 **

* * *

><p>He liked boys.<p>

This attractive man at the counter liked boys.

Kurt was attractive.

Somewhere in the back of that perfectly groomed, chestnut head, Kurt believed this would be able to work out. Maybe.

However, life was out to get him as Kurt realized he had just ungraciously spit coffee all over this table. In public.

He groaned and pushed himself away from the table, inevitably walking up to the counter to talk to the beauty trying to preoccupy himself with _not_ laughing at the scene that unfolded in front of him. His stifled giggles only made Kurt flush with embarrassment.

He cleared his throat. "C-could I have some napkins?"

Kurt visibly winced at his own stutter. Kurt Hummel didn't stutter in front of cute boys.

Blaine (that was his name wasn't it?) handed him a small stack, having already known they would need some with a smile.

"It would be best if the coffee went down your throat and not on the table," he said laughingly. Kurt bristled at the reply.

He was making fun of him.

Kurt huffed and took the napkins, spinning on his heels to return to his table. If this wasn't one of the most embarrassing days of his life, he didn't know what was. Being caught staring at another man, spilling coffee, having his friend worry over him (albeit that happened normally, but still), and stuttering? This was terrible and Kurt tried his hardest not to look as exasperated as he was. The worry would only cause him to break out, regardless of how rigorous his skin care routine was. When he neared the table, he could hear that Mercedes was also stifling her giggles.

"If everyone is just hell bent on laughing at me today then don't let me stop you!" Kurt said bitterly, starting to clean up his mess on the table.

"Naw, c'mon Kurtie! I didn't mean it like that! You just look like a ruffled bird, that's all," she said reassuringly, placing her hand over his in a comforting gesture. Kurt pouted.

"A well-dressed, properly groomed bird I hope."

Mercedes laughed in response. "Of course, boo."

Kurt smiled at her response before standing to throw away the napkins.

"So what movie are we gonna go see?" Mercedes asked happily as Kurt returned to the table.

He shrugged.

"Whatever you and Rachel wanna see since I'm the one who can't make girl's night. You two come up with something," he sighed, drinking his coffee once more. Mercedes only snorted as her way of response at first and Kurt raised an eyebrow, their silent bout of conversation being something the two commonly do.

"You know there's no reasoning with Ms. Loudmouth. I'll just pick the movie and said you wanted it," Mercedes replied, taking a swig of her drink. "Or something like that."

Kurt chuckled and adjusted his scarf. "You're crazy, but correct, I guess."

"You know it."

The two sat in comfortable silence for a while, not something that normally happened, but it wasn't awkward or anything.

"Boy, don't look now, but I think our eye candy is checking you out," Mercedes whispered, grinning madly. Kurt looked up and, yes, Mercedes was right. He caught a glimpse of hazel before the other tried to play it off like he hadn't been staring at him for a while. Kurt smirked, thinking he'd take Mercedes up on that idea she voiced earlier. He grabbed a pen and a napkin before writing his number on it and standing. He walked over to the counter.

"Sorry sir, but I think we might be out of napkins," Blaine said in a smooth voice and a honey-coated smile. Kurt felt something stir in his stomach by looking at him.

Oh he was _good._

"Don't get cheeky with me," he said as he handed him the napkin with his number. "It's not like I've been making lusty eyes at _you_ from behind the counter," he added before strutting away to grab his bag. He missed the blush and the sputtered response the other attempted to give him.

"C'mon Mercedes. Let's go pick out that movie."

* * *

><p>Kurt groaned at the books in front of him. He couldn't concentrate, what with running on very few hours of sleep, the worries brought about by being a high schooler, and his newest distraction, Blaine. Had he decided to just trash the number? Was Kurt making a false assumption in thinking that the attractive Lima Bean worker was staring at him? Kurt knew that he had definitely been staring at the barista, and thinking about him non-stop since they left the café. Blaine had easily tucked himself into every conscious thought that passed through Kurt's head. He carded a finger through his primped locks, rearranging more than a few strands of perfectly coiffed hair.<p>

"Carole and I are heading out, kiddo. You'll be alright?" a gruff voice called from his doorway.

"Yeah, have fun dad," Kurt responded, giving him a smile. He wouldn't even tell his father to knock next time. Heck, he probably did and Kurt just wasn't paying any attention to it.

Trudging over to his bed, he quickly felt a little tension sink away within the fluffy comforter and the silky sheets. He only wished he could always feel this relaxed in his bed. If only it were a haven and not a hellish place for him. He sat up on his bed and pulled his knees to his chest, placing the tip of his thumb in between his lips and chewing on the nail. It was a nasty habit he had picked up during all of his interactions with Karofsky. Kurt cringed when he remembered the name.

Karofsky.

That was a person he thought he could expect good things from. Yes, he may have been very far back in the closet, and yes, Kurt might have been a little naïve when it came to the jock.

Okay. _Very_ naïve.

But he pushed those thoughts back into the deep recesses of his mind, along with the bile and tears resurfacing with the memories. Karofsky was gone. Doing time in jail for what he had done, and Kurt was not about to bring everything up again.

When he looked over at his clock, he realized he'd been up longer than he wished to be, and so he put his iPod on its dock and hit shuffle, letting the catchy lyrics of Lady Gaga fill the room. He usually played music if he fell asleep after 11. It helped fend off his subconscious for a while and he could actually get a little sleep.

As he evened out his breathing and found himself slipping into the depths of sleep, he felt a lag in everything around him. He could feel the atmosphere shift and a tingling sensation crawled over his hands from his finger tips. Kurt screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to deal with his fears right now. He hadn't even gone through actual sleep yet. But a weight settled on his chest and he could feel in moving, as if it were pacing his body, waiting for him to open his eyes. Ringing accompanied the stilling version of Born This Way, the lyrics and tune warping as it slowed into a low and frightening grumble. He could hear giggling and for a moment, he thought it was safe. Opening his eyes, he found he was wrong.

Centimeters away from his face there was a snarling and rabid beast. Its wild eyes burning holes into Kurt's face and its smell and appearance repulsed the teenage boy. He felt a grimy paw circle his throat with long finger, snapping and breaking, but tightening its grip all at the same time.

"_Why do you run from us?"_ A wispy voice called, faltering and wavering.

Tears streamed down Kurt's face as he thrashed against the hand clutching his throat. Blood burbled from his throat as a snap in his neck resonated through his room. Looking down at his blood staining his pillow, his eyes widened when he saw the maggots swimming around. He clutched his fists, trying to break free, but only resulting in his fingernails puncturing his delicate skin on his palms.

"_Hm? Kurt? What's wrong?" _the voice cooed as a strange weight settled on his shoulder.

His hands were ripped from their positions by someone other than him and he was being jerked. The screams and protests died in his snapped throat. He wished this would all stop.

"_Kurt?"_

He laughed manically as tears, bile, and blood streak his face and ruined his sheets.

"Kurt! Oh god, what's wrong?"

It was Finn.

Before he was aware of what he was doing, Kurt flung himself into his stepbrother's arms, clutching him tightly as he gasped for much needed air and refusing to let go.

"Kurt, stop. What's wrong? Kurt, please tell me. Are you hungry? I always have nightmares when I'm hungry so I could understand if that's what was-" he froze. He could see the blood that was sliding down Kurt's throat, and using his strength, Finn was able to pull Kurt away enough to see that the skin around his throat was raw and there was blood underneath the other's fingernails. Kurt only sobbed, not even realizing that he had scratched his own skin until in bled. He cried for a long time before he finally sniffled and calmed down a bit to talk.

"Kurt, wha-"

"I-i'm fine, Finn," he responded automatically.

"No you aren't!" Finn shouted, jumping up from where he was kneeling beside Kurt's bed. "You've been screaming in your sleep for the past month and you barely get any sleep anyways, and you never concentrate on anything and now you're _bleeding_ for fuck's sakes and-!"

Kurt toned him out, finally realizing how sore his neck actually was and focusing on that. Finn stared at him for a long time after he finished his rant. For a while, they both just stared at each other, Finn giving Kurt a questioning glare while Kurt looked at him with teary, broken eyes.

"Look Kurt, I may not be the smartest guy-" Kurt snorted at this, and Finn smiled, glad he was humoring him a little, "-but I'm your brother and I still care about you and stuff and something is definitely wrong," he said, frowning again. Kurt shrugged. He then noticed Finn pulling out his phone and Kurt panicked.

"What are you doing?" he asked frantically. Kurt couldn't have anyone else knowing of his problems, that would only burden everyone else.

"I'm going to call a hospital. Maybe they can-"

"No! I'll talk to Ms. Pillsbury about it tomorrow. Is that okay? Just...Just don't call anyone," Kurt proposed, leaning against his wall and sighing, the drying blood on his neck starting to irritate him.

Finn stared at him before he nodded. "B-but I'm going with you and we're doing it first thing in the morning," he said assertively, pointing at the smaller teen. Kurt smiled and nodded.

"Okay. Goodnight, Finn. Thanks for…..well…" Kurt trailed off, not knowing exactly wheat to thank him for.

"Why are you telling me goodnight? There's obviously something wrong and I'm not leaving you here so you can just hurt yourself in your sleep," Finn mumbled, surprisingly not taking it as heavily as he should have been.

Kurt cleared his throat and nodded before getting out of his bed. He was feeling very dirty with his neck all bloodied, and he walked into his bathroom and started running the cold water. What Finn didn't know was that this wasn't the first time Kurt woke up covered in his own blood, which is probably why the conversation was so light. He sighed as he dampened a cloth and cleaned the blood off his neck. It wasn't good that he had these episodes. He didn't even know what brought them on. A few theories and particularly clear times pointed that the cause of all these troubles was Karofsky, which would be the most logical answer, but Kurt didn't like to believe he had that kind of a hold on him. He didn't really want to think that one person had destroyed him like this, leaving him to wear a mask to all those he loved just so he could get by another day.

It made him sick and he grimaced.

Worst of all, Kurt couldn't bring himself to hate Karofsky. And that's what truly scared him more than anything else.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Woo! Sorry this took so long! I've got the next two chapters for this story all written out, I just need to type them and get them revised so hopefully I won't take so long on that.**

**Also! Big thanks to my Beta reader and best friend Jessica! She got me into Glee in the first place so lots of love and thanks to her! She's also super efficient in the way she works and was able to get this revised chapter back to me in like than 6 hours. WOW.**

**So of any of you interested, I have a Homestuck/Glee crossover also~!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee :'(**

* * *

><p>The silence in the room was soaked with all of the nervous and uneasy feelings. Two horrified pairs of eyes stared at him, as if staring would alleviate all the problems going on.<p>

Ms. Pillsbury cleared her throat.

"So, um, Kurt," she said finitely. The woman folded her hands, rearranged things on her desk. Anything that would help to captivate her attention from this massive problem that arose, she took. "Have you been finding yourself sleeping during the day?"

Kurt shook his head. What part of "no sleep whatsoever" did she not understand? He tried desperately to push away the headache forming in his temples.

"Dude, why didn't you tell me that your dreams were that freaky?" Finn asked with genuine concern.

"Because it's not really something I'm willing to talk about?" he responded flippantly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Operation: Ignore Headache wasn't working. Ms. Pillsbury cleared her throat again.

"Well, with my knowledge, you're suffering from what people call Sleep Paralysis. It's commonly associated with narcolepsy, but it can be brought about by stress, a change in sleeping patterns, or repressing a traumatic experience," she said, standing and fixing her pencil skirt before carefully plucking a pamphlet from her collection.

"So is it a disease?" Finn asked, scooting forward in his chair.

"Doctors really don't know what it is. There's nothing we can really do," she muttered daintily, wringing the edge of her jacket before sitting back down. Kurt sighed hopelessly. He was beyond help. He didn't know how he was supposed to combat sleep paralysis and apparently neither did trained doctors. Finn stared between the two.

"What do you _mean_ there's nothing you can do? Kurt's just supposed to not sleep until exhaustion gets to him and-"

"Finn!"

The room went silent again; the stress was palpable. Kurt was trying to process the information himself. How was he supposed to go on? He didn't know how he was supposed to deal with it. He took a deep breath.

"All I can recommend is a regular dosage of sleep medicine." A spark of hope.

Kurt stood. "Well, thank you, Ms. Pillsbury, for all your help," he mumbled, blinking back the sleep in his eyes.

"Yes, well, let me just get you guys a note," she said, beginning to fumble around in her desk for the admits to class before she caught a look at Kurt. He looked so terrible and so sick. The guidance counselor couldn't stand seeing a student like that. "Kurt. Would you like to take the day off? You look pretty out of it," Ms. Pillsbury said, her eyebrows furrowed around her large eyes in concern.

Kurt was about to shake his head and say no, but Finn stood and put his hand on the shorter boy's shoulder.

"You should go home," he mumbled. Kurt nodded then.

Finn left when Ms. Pillsbury gave him the note. Plopping back down in the chair, Kurt carded a hand through his hair, desperately wondering how he ended up with sleep paralysis in the first place.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but what's been bothering you so much that you, um, claw at your skin?" she asked timidly.

The memories rushed back to him. He didn't know how he got through a briefing earlier. His heart raced as he remembered the tendrils, the blood, the maggots, the puss, all the screaming and the slime. Every bone he watched break, ripping through his rotten flesh in excruciating detail. Every single time his entrails were ripped out for strange figures to toy with, making a mess with the organs he knew he needed. Everything was always too hot and too cold at the same time and everything moved too fast and too slow. It was painful on his conscious, and in his nightmares, it was agony on his body. He remembered how many countless times he ripped at faceless beings, dripping congealed blood and porous mucus over his body as they ripped him apart slowly. All the memories and scenes played in his head and Kurt felt sick to his stomach. He broke out into a cold sweat, getting the same feeling he did in one of those frenzies. He was suddenly extremely uncomfortable. His clothes felt too big and too small.

Since when had the floor been moving?

And did Ms. Pillsbury have those sporadic dots on her desk just a moment ago?

His breathing came rapidly as his heart continued to pump blood furiously through his veins. He was having another hallucination. The black fuzzy monsters waiting in the corner stared at him with broken eyes, filled with puss and mucus and they reeked. Everything smelled like it was rotting.

"_Kurt…"_

"No!" he screamed as they moved closer to him. "Stop!"

"Kurt!"

When he came to, he was panting and Ms. Pillsbury and Mr. Shue were kneeling in front of him with worried glances.

"This was worse than I thought…"

"D-don't tell my dad!" Kurt sputtered. His mind had lurched to a stop and the single concern that stood out most was the welfare of his father. He didn't want to have him stress out just because his son had trouble sleeping at night.

The two adults shared a glance.

"C'mon Kurt. I'll take you home, you need some rest," Mr. Shue said, standing and fishing his keys from his pocket.

Kurt didn't comment on how going home would not help him at all.

* * *

><p>Blaine sighed.<p>

It was Wednesday and Dalton let out school early on Wednesday, allowing the dapper gentleman to work more hours at the Lima Bean. Not too many people came in around noon on Wednesdays.

He pulled out his cell phone and stared at the screen. He was debating whether or not to text Kurt. Would waiting a day be too long? Would it be weird to text him at all? He _was_ just a customer, albeit a super attractive customer that probably pitched for his team and definitely was the one that gave Blaine his number.

_you heading to the Lima Bean today? :) – Blaine_

He sent the text before he could have any qualms about it. He may have had some messy relationships in the past, but there was something about Kurt that had Blaine wanting to try. He couldn't help but smile at the way Kurt had scribbled his name and number on a napkin. His hands were diligent and deft. Like a musician's, but also like a dancer's. Elegant was really the only word that could capture how magnificent they were.

And wow. Was Blaine gazing dreamily at nothing over some boy's perfectly manicured hands?

He glanced around to make sure no one saw the embarrassing act before groaning loudly. It was so confusing. However, what was more confusing was when his phone buzzed.

He had gotten a text. He unlocked the iPhone and checked the message.

_you're lucky I'm not in school right not, or I would chew your head off – Kurt_

Blaine smiled and quickly responded.

_really? You neither? Dalton let out early, you should swing by - Blaine_

In less than a few seconds, he was replied to.

_I may or may not be on my way there right now ;) – Kurt_

Blaine blushed. Was he being flirted with? A complete stranger was flirting with him. Well, he, too, could play at that game.

_I may or may not wait up for you ;) and btw, you don't look like a Medium Drip kinda guy. More like a non-fat mocha – Blaine_

_Do you always flirt this much with your customers, mister? – Kurt_

_Maybe. And that's Mr. Anderson to you – Blaine_

"Blaine, you're grinning like a kid on Christmas, what's up?"

Blaine looked up from his phone and saw his friend. He had indeed been grinning like a child on Christmas, he had to admit.

"Nothing, Wes. Just talking to a friend," he said, still smiling. His phone buzzed and he quickly returned his attention to the small screen.

_Blaine Anderson? Charming. I'm Kurt Hummel. Pleased to meet you – Kurt_

"Hummel…" he muttered under his breath, typing in a reply.

Wes pushed past Blaine, manning the register even though there was no one there. "We both know you don't smile like that for your friends," Wes groaned. Blaine rolled his eyes.

"He's _just_ a friend," he said, dropping his phone in his pocket and elbowing Wes away from the register, resuming his job.

"With the way you're saying that, I beg to differ," Wes replied, going to check the brewer.

"Oh, shut it Wes. When's David coming to work?"

Wes shrugged and Blaine sighed. Nothing against Wes, but David tended to pester Blaine a lot less.

"Hey, handsome." A blonde draped himself across the register from over the counter, wearing a smirk.

"So is Jeff your mystery boyfriend?" Wes asked. He then tsked before Blaine could mouth a reply. "Never knew you were into blondes." Blaine sighed and massaged his temples.

"No, Wes. And Jeff, get off the register," Blaine scolded. "I swear, you guys will kill me one day."

"Aw, we don't love you _that_ much!" chirped Wes, jokingly.

"Yeah, we wouldn't kill you, Blainers. Just rough you up a bit," Jeff replied, leaning against the counter.

"Wow, you really _do_ flirt with all your customers," came a higher pitched voice. "And here I thought I was special."

All of their eyes turned to the boy who entered the café.

"Kurt! What are you doing here?" Blaine asked, waving Jeff out of the way. The blonde scoffed and went over to mutter something to Wes.

"I've come for a grande nonfat mocha and some friendly company," he said, striding towards the counter. Blaine tried hard not to stare at the way he moved his hips as thin heels clacked on the ground.

"Is that all that you want for today?" Blaine asked, punching in the necessary numbers on the cash register.

"For now," Kurt said, shifting his weight from one hip to the other. Blaine had slid his card that he discreetly pulled from his own wallet and nodded to a surprised Wes. The Asian went to make the drink, and Blaine noticed Kurt pulling out his wallet and stopped him.

"It's on the house," Blaine said. Kurt lifted an eyebrow.

"Buying my coffee? You don't have to do that," he said in a much gentler voice.

Blaine blushed slightly. "I want to," he replied, handing Kurt his drink.

Kurt stared at it for a moment. His brain was working slow as he was trying to put the stressful morning behind him. The lack of sleep didn't help either, and he was exhausted, which was why he needed to come get coffee in the first place. Caffeine was a necessity. He was dropped off at home and tried to sleep, but when his father left for the shop, Kurt realized he wasn't going to find any solace in resting. Like always. He was up and awake for good so the Lima Bean had been very opportune and needed.

"Thank you…" he muttered, wrapping his hands around the cup fondly. Blaine blinked at the sudden change in composure. Something seemed to be bothering him.

"You okay?" he asked, leaning in a bit closer. Kurt looked up at him and smiled before shaking his head. Blaine took the answer and mirrored the expression. With a gesture over to the clock, Blaine had easily slipped back into flirt mode.

"I start my break in about ten minutes. Will you wait?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Blaine became very nervous. Kurt could easily say no and that would be the end of that. Although, he couldn't pinpoint why exactly he cared so much, he did. He also didn't know why the milky whites of the other's eyes bothered him so much. He had never felt more like a blushing high schooler than he did now.

Kurt nodded, breaking the spell Blaine put himself under. "Of course."

As he walked away and sat himself down at a table, Blaine released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

"Dude! What was _that_?" Jeff exclaimed, trying to keep his voice out of the public's hearing range.

"What was what?"

Wes rolled his eyes and groaned at Blaine's dumbfounded expression and thanked the fact that they didn't have any customers yet. "You two were totally flirting! I don't know much about science but that was _definitely_ chemistry!"

"How do you not know about science, Wes? You're Asian!"

"Guys!" Blaine interjected. "Calm down. He's just here for a mocha," he said, looking back over his shoulder to where Kurt was sitting.

"Oh my god, you totally like him!" Jeff pointed out, his jaw dropping.

"_Ssh_!" Blaine blushed. Jeff and Wes looked at each other and grinned. "Spill the deets! What's his name?"

"Where's he from?"

"Have you kissed him yet?"

"Why didn't you tell us you were seeing someone, Blaine?"

"_Guys_!"

"How old is he?"

"Yeah, you aren't getting him in trouble for robbing the cradle, are you?"

"Shut-"

"Does he like Mexican food?"

"-uuuup!"

Jeff and Wes bit their tongues, trying to cage in their excitement. They could be quite ruthless with interrogation. Blaine sighed and looked over to the clock.

"I'm going on my break. I'll tell you guys whatever when I get back, alright?" he negotiated. Grabbing a bagel, he walked around the counter to join Kurt. The pale, lithe boy stood out among the few people in the café. He had his eyes closed, long eyelashes wisping gently on his flushed cheeks. Blaine noted how his thin, delicate, and probably smooth fingers drummed on his cup as sweet tones burbled from his throat, nearly inaudible to anyone not paying attention.

"_Wicked_, right?" he asked, sitting down at the small table.

Kurt had jumped and awkwardly hit his knees on the bottom on the furniture when Blaine frightened him. Luckily, he was holding his drink and it didn't spill. These days, Kurt wasn't able to handle surprises well.

"Whoa there, sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you," Blaine said, ducking his head lightly and blushing. Kurt sighed and smiled.

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention." The two sat in silence for a few moments before Kurt cleared his throat. "So Blaine, you go to Dalton?" Kurt said, taking a tentative sip from his mocha.

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore." Blaine pretended not to notice the look of surprise on Kurt's face. "You said something about not being in class earlier. Are you in college?" Kurt nearly choked on his drink in regards to the statement. To both of them actually.

"Heavens no! I go to McKinley, I'm a junior there," he said chuckling. It was flattering that he looked mature enough to be confused for a college kid.

"Oh, do you like it there?" Blaine asked, tearing off a piece of his bagel and waiting until he finished speaking to pop it into his mouth. Kurt shrugged. "It's school. Bullies and slushies, but we have a Glee club called the New Directions which is alright," he answered.

"You're in the New Directions? I'm the lead singer for the Dalton Academy Warblers!" Blaine exclaimed, smiling.

"Who knew the enemy would be so attractive?" Kurt asked coyly, crossing his legs and inspecting Blaine thoroughly.

"You think I'm attractive?"

"You just pick out what you want to hear, don't you Anderson?"

Blaine shrugged. "Hey, I don't have to be the enemy; we just won't talk about our numbers for Sectionals." The words came out a tad bit more suggestive than Blaine intended. He went back to picking apart his bagel while glancing over to the other. Kurt was staring at him with those perfect glasz eyes. They weren't exactly blue, green, or gray, but instead the most impeccable combination of the three. They seemed foggy and clouded, but beautiful nonetheless.

"So tell me about yourself, Blaine Warbler. You sing at Dalton, play with your food, and you like boys. What else?" Kurt asked, adjusting the scarf on his neck. Blaine laughed under his breath.

"I like football and _Vogue_."

"Get _out_!" Kurt squealed in excitement. Blaine smiled before saying, "Your turn." He settled his elbows on the table and clasped his hands. Resting his chin on the joined fingers, he _almost_ gazed dreamily at the other boy, trying to keep it to a platonic level. He noticed how the action made Kurt blush as the older boy suddenly became very interested in his coffee.

"Well, I like scarves," he started. "And Broadway, and fashion." He looked up as he pondered. "And snow. I guess snowflakes are cool."

"Snowflakes? Like the ones that stay on your nose and eyelashes?"

Kurt narrowed his eyes incredulously at Blaine. "What?" Blaine waved it off.

"Sorry that was nothing," he said, trying to dismiss the thought. Now was not the time to be quoting musicals.

"No it wasn't! That was from _The Sound of Music_!" Beaming, he looked over to find the other boy mirroring his expression. Okay, so maybe musicals were an always go-to. They both silently conversed for a moment with their eyes, gazing at each other.

"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes," Blaine started.

"Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes!" Kurt answered before they joined, harmonizing perfectly.

"Silver white winters that melt into springs; these are a few of my favorite things!"

By then, the few members of the café had been staring at them. This included Jeff and Wes, who were quick to jump on the opportunity of flawless harmonizing.

"When the dog bites-" Jeff started.

"When the bee stings-" finished Wes.

"When I'm feeling sad," they continued, singing together. Blaine and Kurt looked up and joined the other two for the last small section, the four of them singing like it was the most common thing.

"I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad."

They all broke into a fit of giggling. Jeff and Wes turned their attention back to their own conversation as the scarce patrons applauded them lightly.

"Friends of yours?" Kurt asked, nodding his head over to the other two.

"Sadly," the response came. Blaine sighed. "You have such a nice voice. The New Directions are so lucky to have you. The Warblers would kill for a countertenor," Blaine added, putting another bite of his demolished bagel in his mouth. Kurt shrugged.

"I pretty much just sing along in the background. Finn and Rachel are the two that sing all of the solos," he said, finger pads rubbing his cup gently.

"No way! They're totally taking you for granted!"

Kurt lapped up the compliment, basking in it as if his life depended on it.

"Blaine!" Both men looked up to the Asian addressing him. "Sorry to ruin your date but your break's over," he added, gesturing towards the clock. Blaine groaned and stood. He really hated his work sometimes.

He felt a hand on his arm and Blaine smiled lightly.

"When does your shift end?" Kurt asked, trying to hide the flushing of his cheeks.

"At five. Why?" Kurt smirked and downed the rest of his mocha. He had put on his flirtatious face again. One of the many different perks of being such a talented actor was the ability to pull out any card or mask. "I've got nowhere to be before then."

Blaine smiled and took Kurt's now empty cup.

"Blaine!" Wes called, tapping his watch. Blaine shrugged and shot him an expression that asked for a few more minutes before glancing back at Kurt.

"And afterwards?" he purred. Kurt's eyebrows shot up.

"Don't get cocky, Anderson. I've got a date with a handsome guy at Breadstix at about 6," Kurt replied, lacing his fingers over his crossed legs. He still held on to the suave complexion he practiced so relentlessly. He was amazed with himself. Kurt knew he'd have to tell Mercedes and Rachel right away. Blaine, however, looked crestfallen.

"Y-you do?" he stuttered.

Oh yes. Mercedes and Rachel would hear _all_ the details. Kurt snagged himself a cute one.

Kurt hummed and stared directly into his pair of hazel eyes.

"I will as soon as you ask me." Blaine's jaw dropped. Somewhere in his mind he would have never expected Kurt to be this suggestive. Granted he'd only just now properly met him, Blaine felt as if he knew Kurt for god knows how long. He smiled.

"Well, I can't deny when you put it like that. I'll meet you there," he replied. Kurt smiled at him. Wes called out again.

"Any day now, Blainers."

Blaine groaned and walked back over to the counter where a line was beginning to form. Kurt had to work hard to peel his eyes away from the other as he walked away. Oh yes. Blaine was definitely gay. No straight man wore jeans that perfectly fitted without knowing what they were doing.

"_No. Kurt Hummel does _not _scope out men's butts when he's just met them_," he scolded. A sigh escaped his lips.

He brushed through his hair with his fingers. He didn't notice while talking to Blaine, but he was so tired. His bones and muscles ached and Kurt could only wince imagining the pain of standing up with his joints the way they were. He slid his hand down the back of his neck, squeezing and rubbing at the stiff and tense muscles that begged for any type of comfort. Maybe a date tonight wasn't the best idea, no matter how proud he was for asking. He could just go home and slip under his covers and try to feign off sleep while relaxing his body. Sleep was just too risky. All the terrors his subconscious brewed up were just waiting for the chance to dart over the line they were nudging so dangerously and plague Kurt. He opened his eyes, not realizing he closed them, and looked at his hands, still laced over his knees.

He was thinking back to earlier that morning; on how Ms. Pillsbury insisted that he give therapy a try. Kurt had attempted to convince her he wasn't hiding anything, but the doe-eyed woman wasn't a guidance counselor for nothing. She realized though, that she wasn't going to get a wanted response from Kurt. When he had gone to Walgreens after his dad left for work, he felt as if everyone knew his intentions. He felt like he was open and everyone could see his every detail. He may as well have told the other shoppers his name, favorite color, and most cherished memory. He worked hard to swallow his nerves, trying not to get to anxious about the scars on his neck; how much paler his complexion was; the bags under his eyes. He was good with his make-up so no one would be able to notice, right?

He was broken from his thoughts as a warm cup was set in front of him. He looked up and saw the tall blonde that was hanging around Blaine earlier. He smiled warmly at Kurt, who then noticed he was to return the sentiment.

"Thanks," Kurt said lightly. The other shrugged and added a "no problem". He gestured to the empty seat beside Kurt and looked at him expectedly. What was making Kurt such a magnet for boys today? He nodded before reaching out for his offered coffee set on the table.

"You Dalton boys _always_ buy other people coffee?" Kurt asked before taking a swig of the Medium Drip. It wasn't as appealing as he remembered it. He deduced it was because it was following a nonfat mocha which he actually enjoyed a lot more.

"Nah, that's just Blaine. He told me to bring this over since he said you might need it. You're really staying until the end of his shift?"

Kurt smiled and scoffed. He added a quick nod.

The junior had to admit, this one was quite the looker. He had a magnificent, creamy complexion and dazzling blonde hair with very soft features. Kurt noted and filed away the correlation between Dalton students and aesthetic appeal. The Asian at the counter _was_ acutely attractive as well. Not Kurt's type, but attractive. He definitely topped Mike in the most-attractive-Asian-according-to-Kurt category. He focused his attention to the boy in front of him.

"What was your name again?" he asked setting the cup down. The other snorted at the question and Kurt frowned. "What?" Did he say something wrong?

"Oh, no. Sorry. It's just that usually people ask me if my hair is natural or not. Not my name," he cleared, putting his hands up and smiling. The boy was born to smile, Kurt thought, and he couldn't help but find it infectious.

"I can tell when coloring comes from a bottle or not," Kurt said triumphantly.

"Congrats. You're right. My name's Jeff by the way. Jeff Sterling." Jeff held out his hand and Kurt took it. "I'm Kurt Hummel."

"Kurt? As in that kid from _The Sound of Music_?" Kurt rolled his eyes at the blonde, giving him all the answer he wanted. What was with that musical being so popular today? Kurt himself had come to the conclusion that there might be more than coincidence being played in his naming.

"So are you a Warbler, too?" Kurt asked, sliding his nimble fingers over his cup as he remembered him singing earlier. Jeff nodded.

"Yep, so is Wes, that grouchy guy behind the counter," Jeff responded, drumming his fingers against the table. Kurt nodded. "We're up against each other at Sectionals," he said, bringing his cup up to his lips again.

"Yeah, better be on your toes," Jeff laughed, leaning over and nudging Kurt across the table. Kurt chuckled with him.

"Yeah right. The New Directions will smoke you guys like sausage," he rebutted, tapping Jeff's leg under the table with his foot. Jeff quirked an eyebrow.

"Whoa dude. Good thing you _like_ meat," he replied wittily. Kurt blushed and sputtered.

"Th-that's not what I meant!"

Jeff continued to laugh at him, holding his sides. His phone buzzed and he wiped his eyes. Kurt's gaze went to the vibrating phone and Jeff answered the call.

"Yeah?"

"_Stop flirting with Kurt_."

Jeff looked over at Blaine and waved.

"I'm not flirting with him. I know you hit that ball way out of the park."

* * *

><p><strong>So what'd you think~? Reviews are greatly appreciated!<strong>

**Also, how many of you think Nick and Jeff should get together? I like the idea of them being straight and best buds, but I also like to ship them romantically. What other pairings would you like to see? I'm opening it up for the reader's general opinion!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Two updates in one weekend! Woo~! Special thanks to Jessica who is the most amazing beta and is so super quick when revising my stories! 3 Love her~!**

**So if any of you guys ship Niff, I'm writing a nice little story on that~! Happy to see how that plays out! **

**I'm getting lots of reviews for these stories, guys~! And I love them! Keep em coming! I'll try to answer your questions without revealing too uch of the story!**

**Disclaimer: If Glee were mine...**

* * *

><p>Get Kurt gripped his steering wheel as he steeled himself for the date he was about to attend. How he had even worked up the courage to ask Blaine on a date was beyond him. He blamed it on crazy symptoms due to his lack of sleep. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the safety of his car, building up his confidence. He did admit he looked amazing, and the few cups of coffee he had today buffeted away sleep and the terrifying journey that went along with it. He quickly made his way to the door, finding safety in the light and trying to calm his shaky breath. Who knew what was waiting in the dark parking lot? He checked his watch and saw it was already 6. He instantly became worried. Was Blaine going to stand him up? He seemed like he was interested earlier. He checked his watch again, then his phone for any texts of calls. It was now 6:05.<p>

"Hey! Wait long?"

Kurt looked up at Blaine and heaved a sigh of relief. "No," he said, looking Blaine over. Alarms sounded in his head and had to bite his tongue to control the witty remarks about the other's wardrobe. Striped cardigans did _not_ go with plaid sweater vests. Pretty much nothing went with plaid sweater vests unless you were Kurt Hummel and knew what to wear with it. However, pushing aside the wacky bow tie (Christmas trees? It's still fall!) and his rolled up pants with no socks (which was particularly hard to ignore), Kurt found it endearing. He understood that Blaine probably didn't wear much outside his Dalton uniform and work clothes, and he was trying. He would definitely have to help him out though. He couldn't be _too_ fashion incompetent. He did read _Vogue_, right? Kurt smiled and spun on his heel to go inside the restaurant with Blaine.

"So Mr. Warbler, tell me some of your favorite movies," Kurt started as soon as they were seated. Blaine chortled and shook his head at the nickname before leaning back in his seat.

"_Aladdin_, hands down. _The Little Mermaid_ is a close second," he answered.

Kurt grinned. A Disney fanatic, huh? He couldn't find that weird. Not when he could quote every line backwards in _Wicked_ and cried every time Angel died in _Rent_, regardless of how many times he's watched it. It was actually really cute that Blaine liked Disney. Kurt could feel his worry ebb away. Blaine wasn't an uptight prep school boy that he had to act classy for to impress. He relaxed in knowing that. "I always was a fan of Snow White."

Blaine pointed to Kurt when he had said that. "You do kinda resemble her. Pale skin, dark hair, rosy cheeks, long eyelashes…" he rambled. Blushing, Kurt kicked Blaine under the table. He yelped. "What?" Kurt busied himself with his napkin as he tried to still his frantically beating heart.

"I'm sorry." Kurt looked up. Blaine was looking embarrassed.

"No! No, no! It's fine! It was just really…."

"Weird?"

Kurt shook his head. "No. Sweet." And Kurt wasn't lying. With Karofsky, nothing was sweet and romantic. Everything was always rough and desperate. Kurt tried to swallow down the growing lump in his throat. He was _not_ going to let Karofsky ruin this date.

"Are you alright?" Blaine was looking at him with a worried expression and Kurt realized he must be on the brink of tears. Either that, or Blaine was really perceptive. Either one was a plausible explanation. He sighed. Crying on the first date was a sure fire way to scare off an attractive boy.

"Sorry! Yeah, I'm fine." Blaine furrowed his brow and Kurt took that expression as an I'm-not-convinced-and-you're-lying look.

"Are you sure? You look pretty tired. I tried not to say anything earlier," he added. Kurt paled, more so than his porcelain complexion already whitened by his sleep loss. Blaine was starting to figure him out.

"I-it's nothing," he mumbled. At that moment, the waitress came over to take their drink order. When she left, Blaine cleared his throat. He knew when he had made a faux pas and he wasn't just going to sit here all awkward until the date was over.

"So what's your favorite movie?"

Kurt relaxed when he wasn't further interrogated on his personal topic. He had only just told Finn and Ms. Pillsbury today. He couldn't even bring himself to tell his father, let alone Blaine. He'd tuck it away and tell him if things moved more favorably.

"I've got a lot of favorite movies," Kurt said, picking around at condensation on the table from the glass of water. "Mainly Broadway musicals. _Wicked_, _Funny Girl_, etc." He grinned and Blaine returned the smile.

"We'll have to movie swap sometime, my knowledge on musicals is actually quite depressing," he said as the waitress returned with Blaine's drink and more water for Kurt. She also came bearing expectations to fill an order. Kurt had made sure to pick something not too pricey but still very palatable, while it seemed Blaine did the exact opposite.

"Great choice!" the waitress chirped as she took their menus and left.

"Are you insane?" Kurt hissed. Blaine was dumbfounded. "What?"

"You ordered the priciest thing here!" he said, throwing his hands up. A laugh escaped the shorter one's lips and Kurt narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm paying so it's fine. You have to learn to indulge yourself, Kurt," Blaine replied, stating it as if it were that simple.

"I _do_ indulge! I just make sure to mind my limits," Kurt scoffed. Wait.

Hold on. Back it up.

Did Blaine say he was paying?

That means this constituted as a date, right? Like a romantic date that two people with possible romantic attraction go on?

Kurt smiled at that.

It was the first time he had actually been on an official date with anyone. Much less an attractive guy who pitched for his team and who Kurt may or may not have developed feelings for despite meeting him yesterday. He suddenly gained a great thirst for knowledge on the other guy.

They talked about many things. From fashion to politics to football ("You know, _I_ used to be the kicker for McKinley.") to the way rain sounded as it hit wet pavement. They talked about animals and languages ("I've spoken Italian since I can remember.") and about little details that perfected romance. Certain topics brought lively color to a pale complexion and others simply brought forth an easy string of conversation, flowing as freely and easily as water.

"So you used to be a cheerleader, too?" Blaine added a whistle to his comment. Somewhere throughout their conversing, the food had arrived and Kurt picked at it, too happy to really eat any of it properly. He felt his pride swell each time Blaine complimented him on something, and he absolutely loved it.

"I think I've found myself a keeper." Kurt's grin widened.

"Consider 'taken' after the 6th date. I'm classy and I need to be wooed," Kurt said before stuffing a small bite of his food into his mouth. Blaine shook his head as if he were rolling around the idea in his mind.

"Six dates isn't bad. They'll all be enjoyable. That is, if you learn to let me spoil you more," Blaine said, sipping on his beverage. Kurt shrugged but his smile didn't leave his face.

"I _am_ letting you spoil me. You're paying for dinner aren't you?" he asked, looking into Blaine's hazel eyes. They were like a forest. No shade of green or brown was the same.

"Yeah, but you should try and go for something a little more….avant garde!"

"Don't tempt me, Anderson. If you let me loose with that kind of thinking, I don't even know if your rich boy credit card could handle it."

"Try me." A smirk formed on the younger one's face and Kurt returned the look, accepting the challenge.

"Fine then, I'm getting cheesecake."

"Alright."

"A _whole_ cheesecake."

Blaine shot him a look saying he still wasn't convinced, and Kurt huffed.

"And on Saturday, you're going to let me go to the mall and test that budget of yours," he said, raising a hand in the air and snapping to get the waitress' attention.

"Bring it."

* * *

><p>Okay, so maybe egging Kurt on for a shopping spree wasn't the brightest idea.<p>

He was a monster.

Blaine promised himself to never challenge Kurt in shopping. Or pretty much anything if he wanted to keep his checking account and sanity safe.

"What's the matter, Blaine? Am I breaking your budget or your arms?" Kurt asked, smirking triumphantly. Blaine flashed him a sheepish smile.

"Both?"

Kurt took some of the numerous bags from Blaine's arms. "Then I guess we're done here," he said before heading towards the exit. Blaine groaned. It was that easy to make him stop? Just to admit defeat? Kurt felt victorious.

It had been hard to explain to his shocked father why a handsome man in a white Prius was coming to pick his son up. It took a lot of coaxing for Burt to put the shotgun down. In all fairness, Blaine had it coming. Who even drives a car like that?

Blaine pulled out his keys and opened the trunk, putting all the bags in the space.

"Remind me never to doubt you again," he said as he slid into the driver's side beside Kurt. The older boy smiled.

"I don't think I'll need to," Kurt said, patting the other's cheek and feeling the light stubble there. "And you need to shave, mister," he added.

The two had become really close in the past few days. Kurt had even gone so far as to take his cell phone in class rather than leaving it in his locker so that he could text Blaine during the day.

"Yeah, Nick swiped it. Kinda disconcerting but if Thad wakes up with half a head of hair, he had it coming." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Nick is Jeff's boyfriend, right?" Kurt asked, leaning back in his seat as Blaine left the parking garage. The other let out a light laugh.

"In the straightest way possible, yes," Blaine responded. Kurt sighed. He was getting lost already with all these Dalton boys he didn't know.

"I bet you they're closet cases. I mean, look at Jeff's hair. Too perfect for him to _not_ be gay," Kurt said exasperated.

"Not everyone at Dalton is gay, Kurt."

"I know," he started. "Wes and David aren't gay, right? But not everyone at Dalton is straight either," he retorted.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I wouldn't actually be surprised if either of them were gay. We don't really expect them to catch onto things quickly," Blaine mumbled.

"Why?"

"Well, aside from the fact that neither of them can get a girlfriend, they aren't the brightest of minds." Blaine grinned as he spoke.

Kurt hummed. "Jeff didn't really strike me as a dumb blonde," he mused. Jeff _did _seem pretty literate.

"He isn't dumb, per se. He just…" Blaine trailed off as he tried to word it. "Well, one time, he was trying to serenade a girl and threw rocks at her window. I'm guessing he really didn't understand the difference between rocks and pebbles, maybe not even a boulder, but he ended up breaking her window," he explained. Kurt's eyebrows shot up as the look of surprise plastered itself on his porcelain features. "Wow…"

He vaguely remembered hearing the story before, and Quinn's face flickered in his mind, enraged and fuming over a broken window. He shook it off. No way that Jeff and Quinn knew each other. "And Nick?"

"He has a habit of tweeting himself when he gets tired. Spams all of our phones," he said. Kurt whistled.

"Each time you tell me a story about one of your friends, I feel like they slowly come down from this high and prestigious cloud that I've put them on," Kurt said, accompanied with a giggle. Blaine surprisingly felt his cheeks flush from the small action. It was calming, and he was glad things were easy between them.

There was a soft buzz that filled the car. It was Blaine's phone ringing. "Shit. Could you get that?" Kurt scoffed and scolded Blaine for cursing and took his phone from the dashboard, answering it.

"Hello?" he said cheerfully.

"_Hey- Whoa! Blaine? Who is this?_"

Kurt snickered. "This is Kurt. Blaine's busy. What's up?" He heard shushing and giggling from the other line.

"_Well, hello Kurt. This is David. We were just wondering where Blaine was. He is supposed to write a paper and he didn't show for our study session._" Cat-calls and wolf whistles were heard from the other end, followed by more shushing.

"Who is it?" Blaine mouthed. Kurt put his hand over the phone's mic and glared at Blaine. "You had to write a _paper_?" he glowered. The expression on Blaine's face sunk, and he cursed again under his breath, earning himself a slap on the wrist.

"I'm so sorry, David," Kurt said, returning to the cellular conversation. "Blaine is on his way back now-"

He heard a different voice respond to him. "_Oh no! It's fine! Blaine doesn't really need to study. It's more of a social thing-_" "_Nick!_" Banter continued on the other end of the line between who Kurt suspected were Jeff and Nick.

"Regardless, he shouldn't be slacking off in his study in favor of play dates," Kurt replied through the bickering on the other end.

"_Well alright. Sorry to spoil your date,_" David apologized, causing Kurt to blush. A date? This _was_ a date, wasn't it? He didn't even realize that this was another date. Until now he just saw it as an opportunity for comeuppance and to flaunt some sort of dominance. He was still trying to grasp at the idea of why he wanted to prove his worth to Blaine. He hadn't even known him a whole week yet! But Blaine made his heart pound and blood would rush to his cheeks when thinking of the hazel-eyed, dapper gentleman.

"It's fine." Kurt hung up the phone after saying goodbye to David.

"Why did you tell them I'm on my way? I have to drive you to Lima and go back to Westerville. I won't make it in time to catch them," Blaine said, running a hand through his gelled locks.

"Well then I guess I'm going with you. You can take me home later," Kurt said, shooting his text to his dad saying he was going to be a little late. He smiled when he hit send.

"I guess I'll be meeting the boys."

* * *

><p>Okay, so maybe visiting Dalton wasn't the best idea.<p>

Kurt was nervous as soon as they stepped onto the perfectly trimmed grounds. Everything was so clean cut and angled as if someone took a ruler and balance to everything. He was trying to control his hyperventilation and was self-consciously picking at his clothes. He felt way under-dressed just _standing_ here. Blaine leaned over to him.

"You look fine," he mumbled. Kurt blushed and put his hands at his sides. They walked through the courtyard leading to what Kurt supposed was Blaine's dorm and he pulled open the large door for Kurt to step inside.

He felt as if he was stepping into a palace.

The floors were made of white marble and the walls were a brilliant mahogany. In front of him the foyer split into two rooms and a grand staircase on the right, spiraling upstairs. The room directly in front of them led to a recreational room with couches and dainty table with a large plasma screen TV centering the room. The room on the left was a kitchen, all white and black with marble countertops and a bar and island with barstools around. This was so surreal, and apparently Kurt had been gaping because Blaine had to tug him by his hand and lead the taller boy to the staircase. They walked up the stairs, still holding hands, as Kurt marveled at the magnificent architecture and ornate detail of all the carved wood. Blaine smiled at his surprise.

"This is a school?" Kurt finally managed to choke out after finding their way on the second floor. Blaine chuckled. "Yep."

They stopped in front of a door and Blaine slipped his hand from Kurt's to knock on the wood. Chatter arose from the other side and the door flew open to reveal a boy with dark hair and smiling brown eyes beaming at them.

"Sup Blaine! And…?" he looked to Kurt quizzically, and he suddenly became self-conscious under the other boy's gaze. Blaine cleared his throat and looked past the brunette to the others. Most of the eyes in the room were looking at Kurt with the same questioning look.

"Guys, this is-"

"Kurt!" Suddenly, Kurt was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Jeff, with a cheerful Wes behind him. Blaine peeled Jeff from Kurt and put some distance between him and the room full of excited boys.

"Well, yeah. This is Kurt. Kurt, this is Nick," he said, gesturing to the boy that opened the door, "David," a darker man smiled at him from his spot on the floor since he had managed to control his excitement, "Thad and Trent," he continued, gesturing over to the two other men that Kurt was unfamiliar with, "And you know Wes and Jeff."

Nick whined. "Why did Jeff get to meet him first?" Blaine rolled his eyes and swept them all into the room. Kurt felt like a red flag in a sea of white.

Jeff and Nick sat back down close to each other, and soon everyone else plopped down among open books and papers. Kurt situated himself between David and Blaine, seeing them as the least threatening of the group, much to the chagrin of those he knew prior. David held out his hand and Kurt stared at it for a second before shaking it.

"I'm glad to meet you. You're all Blaine's talked about since Tuesday," he said, smiling wide. Kurt smiled back and blushed, but his blush could not be rivaled as the other boys overheard the greeting and decided to elaborate.

"First it was 'I met a cute guy today!'"

"Trent!"

" 'He's so charming!' "

Kurt smiled as Blaine put his head in his hands. His acquaintances were actually pretty funny, and their easy attitudes made Kurt more comfortable. He especially loved all these imitations of Blaine's voice.

"Stoooop."

" 'He gave me his number on a napkin. How romantic!' "

"Please, guys, just this once. Shut up."

" 'He came for coffee and waited for me to get off!' " A round of snickering went around the room as certain minds had a field day with the double meaning of those words.

" 'He's got the most beautiful voice, seriously!' "

Blaine jumped up. "C'mon Kurt. I'll take you home," he said a little hastily. Kurt treasured how embarrassed Blaine was getting. It was adorable and although it was making both of them a little uncomfortable, Kurt could tell they were just poking fun and that this was a normal occurrence. He took Blaine's hand and tugged him to sit back down.

"Stay, please? They're just joking," he pleaded lightly, smiling at him. Blaine sighed and caved, sitting back down. As Blaine returned to his spot on the floor, the other boys hopped up and tackled Kurt, who let out a high-pitched yelp.

"He's tamed Anderson!"

Like cheers came from them as they patted his back and noogied him. Kurt thrashed against them.

"My hair! Please don't!" he shrieked, batting the hands away from mussing his perfectly styled locks. "Blaine! Never mind, we're leaving! Now!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Alright guys! This is the next chapter! I am trying to get the next 2 posted today since chapter 7 in the Valentine's day chapter and that's kiiinda important. **

**To those of you reading "The Scientist", do not worry, I haven't forgotten about it! It's just on a bit of a stall while I work on getting these deadlines finished.**

**Also, I know that I told some people this was a SUPER important chapter. It is, but it isn't the important some of you are waiting for. :P Sorry. It's in the next chapter that I'm waiting for my beta to send back~ **

**If you wanna be on the frontline of info, you can follow me on Tumblr! seerofdespair . tumblr . com and on Twitter. NikoBoussniere. I suggest tweeting me though. I also have my phone on me and reply to those~! I also love incorporating viewers ideas into my story if I can~! I love alot of things. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

* * *

><p>It wasn't even the beginning of February.<p>

"I don't see why shops feel the need to put up Valentine's Day decorations in late January."

Blaine gave a skeptical look as they walked through the frigid air in the park together.

"What's so bad about Valentine's day?" he asked, kicking a small rock as they walked along the paved path through the park. Kurt shrugged and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

"I used to be so excited by it. Now it just reminds me of how lonely I really am and…" he trailed off as he looked to a couple holding hands on a bench and sighed. Blaine seemed to pick up on it and linked their arms.

"Hey, hey. Kurt I _know_ you'll find somebody," Blaine said, and he was sincere about it. After these dates with Kurt he really couldn't see how the boy would ever end up without a special someone. He was just too _Kurt_. He just needed to get out of Lima.

Kurt rolled his eyes but a small smile made its way on his face and a blush peppered his cheeks. If he asked, Kurt would only pin it on the cold weather, but both of them knew that Kurt loved the small physical interaction the two of them shared.

"Yeah, and I'm sure whoever it is will just be the most fantastic, perfect guy of them all," he responded flatly, dropping his smile. Blaine snorted.

"Well, it's our 6th date, y'know."

Kurt abruptly stopped.

Their 6th date? Already? When he had said that thing at Breadstix, he wasn't sure that Blaine would want to even stay for six dates! Let alone leave Kurt having such a great time he didn't even care to count them.

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

Did Blaine really want something romantic and more intimate from Kurt? It was making the countertenor's head spin and he wasn't even thinking about it that hard. To Blaine or not to Blaine, that was the question.

"Kurt?"

"Y-you should, uhm…meet my dad, first," he stuttered, blushing red. Blaine laughed at him.

"What is this? The 70's?" he laughed. Kurt shot him a pointed glare and Blaine sighed. "Yeah, I'll meet your dad," he answered, leaning closer into Kurt. The chestnut haired boy tried not to notice it.

"With the way you style your hair, I would have no problem believing it was the 70's," Kurt replied, continuing with their walk through the park. Blaine gaped at him and Kurt refrained from giggling at the dejected look on the other's face.

"That isn't even remotely funny, Kurt, so don't even _think_-"

And before Blaine could finish, Kurt was laughing at him. It was a sonorous laugh, yet so light and delicate at the same time. It was so easy, and it wasn't forced. Not like Jeremiah's, and not like Sebastian's. Kurt's laugh was natural, as if the two were meant for each other and could be open with each other.

Which Blaine thought was totally true.

When Kurt had calmed down, he pulled Blaine over to a bench, and they both sat down.

"My feet are _killing_ me. Blaine Anderson, why did I agree to walk with you?" he complained, rolling his head back and looking up to the gray sky.

"I could carry you back to the car if you'd like," Blaine offered, crossing his ankles and tucking his calves underneath the bench. Kurt chortled and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, an action that Blaine had picked up on and bothered him every time it happened.

"Yeah and you could sing to me, too," Kurt added jokingly, closing his eyes. He stayed like that for a moment, stiff and unmoving. If Blaine hadn't just been having a conversation with him, he would've thought he was asleep. Or dead.

"So is that a yes?" he asked quietly after a few moments, refraining from putting a hand on Kurt's shoulder. The older boy seemed to be jumpy if he wasn't expecting physical contact.

Kurt hummed in response, signaling that he probably wasn't even listening.

Blaine didn't let it bother him. From day one he could tell that the other didn't look so good. Dark circles made rings around his eyes, and he could tell how dark they were, regardless of how much make-up Kurt put over them. He was pale and beautiful, yes, but most days he was just a little _too_ pale, and the way he continued to get exhausted so easily couldn't be normal. The jumpy attitude also didn't go unnoticed by Blaine, and it worried him to no end.

Blaine stood and tapped Kurt's shoulder, effectively snapping him out of the hazy state he had sorta-relaxed into.

And there it was. The fear that passed on the other's face in an instant every time that Blaine had tried to touch him. It was admittedly the one thing that worried Blaine the most.

He leaned down in front of the Hummel with his back to him.

"Blaine. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to carry you back to the car?" he responded sheepishly. Kurt rolled his eyes before situating himself on the shorter man's back.

Kurt would never admit it, but he was thoroughly surprised that Blaine didn't seem to have any trouble carrying him, even though Kurt was taller than he was. Kurt knew that Blaine boxed and fenced and probably did numerous other sports, so he expected the other to be strong. He also knew that he himself was pretty light. But this was effortless.

Kurt nuzzled his nose into the base of Blaine's neck and took in his scent. Something spicy, something sweet. It was purely the best scent Kurt had ever smelled. Blaine's dark hair tickled his nose, and he relaxed against the other's body.

Oh yes, he could get used to this.

"Do you still want me to-"

"Ssshhh," he silenced the other boy. He was so at peace right now and didn't want to be disturbed. Not even by a voice as beautiful as Blaine's.

They continued their trek to the car in silence; the late January snow crunching beneath Blaine's shoes. Kurt closed his eyes and hummed softly in content.

He didn't even notice that he had fallen asleep until he was being coaxed to get up. Opening his eyes, Kurt saw that they were outside of his house and that Blaine was obviously trying to rouse him into alertness.

"_That's strange…_" Kurt thought. He hadn't had one hallucination throughout the entire car ride. Maybe he was getting better.

"Hey, c'mon. I thought you wanted me to meet your dad," Blaine said playfully, lightly nudging Kurt's arm.

"Isshlurduh," he mumbled. Blaine looked at him quizzically, and Kurt stretched in the passenger's seat before actually waking himself up.

"I said, 'I sure do'."

Blaine made an 'o' with his mouth and crawled out of his seat, going around to hold open Kurt's door for him, an action that Kurt realized he couldn't stop regardless of how many times he told Blaine he could open his own door. Kurt stepped out into the biting cold and shivered before stretching again.

He couldn't remember sleeping like that in god knows how long.

He smiled at Blaine and pulled him up to the front of his house. He opened the door to find his father and Carole in the kitchen. Carole was cooking something (probably dinner) and attempting to shoo Burt away, but he seemed perfectly fine leaning against the counter and enjoying her presence.

Kurt cleared his throat. "Dad?"

His father and Carole turned to look at him.

"Hey son! Glad you're home; Carole's starting on dinner," Burt said, pushing off the counter to greet his son. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion upon seeing Blaine.

"Um, dad, this is Blaine Anderson. Blaine, this is my father." Burt's face instantly lightened when he heard the familiar name.

"Oh, so you're the Dalton boy that Kurt talks about! Nice to meet you, son," he said heartily, shaking Blaine's hand. Kurt tried not to be embarrassed by his father's words.

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Hummel," Blaine responded politely, glancing over to Kurt with a warm smile. Carole, who didn't wanted to miss the greeting, moved her way over to Burt's side and cleared her throat.

"Oh! And this is Carole, my stepmom," Kurt introduced, gesturing over to said woman.

"It's nice to meet you," Blaine said just as kindly, taking Carole's hand and shaking it. She giggled in response.

"Oh, Kurt! I like him!" she said, causing Kurt to groan in more embarrassment. Blaine found it absolutely endearing.

He had been very nervous to finally meet Kurt's family. He was told about them on occasion when Kurt was explaining how his father stood up for him being gay and even marched into his school to state his beliefs. He knew Kurt's father was a large man since he'd seen him a few times in the window when he came to pick up Kurt for one of their dates, and he had to admit that he was intimidated.

"How would you like to stay for dinner?"

Blaine beamed at the offer. He tried not to completely keel over in the Hummel hospitality, but they were so kind to him! He swept it over under "Kurt putting in a good word" and left it at that.

"Dad, I don't think Blaine would be-"

"No, it's fine. I'd love to stay if you will have me," Blaine answered, glancing at Kurt, who was obviously trying to make this as least embarrassing as possible.

"Great!" Carole chirped. "Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes, so you boys have some time to wash up," she responded before walking back into the kitchen to check the food. Kurt attempted to usher Blaine out of the room as quickly as possible, to which Blaine only laughed.

"Oh, and make sure to call Finn. He was supposed to be back from Rachel's 10 minutes ago."

"Alright," Kurt called, dragging Blaine to his room. He didn't ignore the pointed look his father gave him. It was kind of hard to, but he got Blaine to his room and closed the door with a sigh.

"I love your family," Blaine said, looking around at his surroundings.

Yes, this was definitely Kurt's room. Any _blind_ person could tell this was Kurt's room.

"Well, they love you, too, so congratulations," Kurt said sheepishly, suddenly a bit nervous.

Blaine Anderson was in his room, looking at his things and sitting on his bed.

_Blaine Anderson_ was in _his_ room. On_ his_ bed.

Kurt tried to hide the rapidly growing blush on his cheeks. He didn't want to add to the embarrassment of introducing Blaine to his family. It hadn't gone bad, but there was something about connecting the two separate pieces of his lives that was just too much to handle in the small amount of time.

"So who's Finn?"

Kurt turned around to look at Blaine, who was flipping through some of the magazines Kurt collected. He walked over and sat in his desk chair, rolling towards his bed.

"That's just my stepbrother," he answered, pulling out his phone. He knew Carole told him to call, but Kurt decided on just sending a text message to him and telling him to get home.

"You never told me you had a brother," Blaine said, looking up from the magazine. Kurt smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"It never came up," he answered. Blaine shrugged and returned the magazine to its place on the desk.

Kurt's phone buzzed and he saw that he got a text from Finn. He didn't feel the need to reply. Who replied with "k" anyways? When did that dumb letter think it could be used in place of the whole 160 symbols you _could_ respond with?

"Oh, Jeff told me to tell you that he says 'hi'," Blaine said, feeling the need to convey the message. Kurt laughed.

"You may as well just give him my number. He seems to always have something to tell me whenever we go out," Kurt said, acknowledging all the times Blaine had acted as carrier to the two whenever the two didn't run into Jeff. It seemed he hung around the Lima Bean a lot. In fact, a _lot_ of the Warblers seemed to hang around the Lima Bean.

"Are you sure? Jeff can get pretty…." Blaine trailed off, not knowing exactly what word he was trying to say. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Friends of yours are friends of mine and vice versa, Blaine. I thought we covered that on our 4th date, or did you forget?" Blaine smiled.

They had gone out to see a movie on their 4th date. Cliché, yes. But not unwelcome. Somewhere during the movie, the two had kissed, but it was something Kurt seemed to be having a hard time swallowing down. It pained Blaine to see that he was ignoring that it happened, but just like other worrying things about Kurt, Blaine knew that the older boy would open the doors for him sooner or later. He just wished everything was sooner.

"No, but you could remind me," Blaine responded with a smirk, crossing his legs and leaning back a bit on Kurt's bed. The chestnut haired countertenor swiveled his chair so his back was to Blaine.

Oh no, no, no, he was _not_ pulling the flirtatious card on him now.

"Blaine," he warned lowly, not looking at him in fear of showing the scarlet on his cheeks. He heard a chuckle and a shifting.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Not now," he said, the phrase offering a soft apology. Kurt sighed and turned back to look at him.

Like all their dates, they had gone into easy conversation, talking about things going on at Dalton and things going on at McKinley. They discussed things about themselves that they hadn't mentioned before, but mainly both boys just found comfort in the other's presence.

It wasn't long before Carole was calling for dinner.

Kurt and Blaine trekked into the dining room. Dinner smelled absolutely delicious, as usual, and Kurt could see the excitement back in Blaine's eyes.

"Finn, stay out of the kitchen," Carole scolded as Blaine and Kurt took their seats. The taller man she was referring to started to leave the kitchen.

"Geez, I'm going. You act like I'm…" he started, but he paused when his eyes landed on Blaine. "Who's that?" he asked, still addressing his mom.

Blaine stood and held out his hand, to which Kurt placed his forehead on the table space in front of him.

"Finn! How rude!" Carole scolded. There was no need for him to act as though Blaine weren't right there.

"Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson, it's a pleasure to meet you," Blaine said, still holding out his hand.

Kurt lifted his head and, before returning it to the table, repeating the action causing the beating of his forehead against the surface. Why did Blaine have to be so formal with everybody? It was driving him insane.

"Uhh…" Finn looked down at Blaine's hand in confusion before clearing his throat and taking it. "I'm Finn."

"Kurt, head off the table," Burt said gruffly as he walked by to take his seat. Kurt held up his head and buried it in his hands. Blaine returned to his side and nudged him.

"I could understand all the formalities with my parents, but with Finn, too? You're making me feel like a girl asking permission from her parents to date!" Kurt hissed from behind his hands.

Oh, so that's what this was about.

"That's just how I was raised," he replied. Finn joined the table, sitting across from Blaine. Now only Carole wasn't accounted for.

"Alright, boys! Who's ready to eat?" she said, sitting herself at the table where all the food was waiting.

"Me! Geez, I'm starving!" Finn exclaimed before shoveling food onto his plate. Kurt sighed, and Blaine stared in surprise at the mountain of food Finn was putting on his plate.

After the food had been dispersed, light conversation started. Kurt and Carole talked about fashion, and Burt and Finn decided on football, two topics of conversation Blaine could have easily jumped into, but he was perfectly fine with just watching the easy interactions. This was a new experience to him, and he loved it.

"So Blaine! You haven't spoken much; tell us about yourself," Carole chirped when Kurt decided he shouldn't abandon his food in favor of conversing. Blaine cleared his throat and set down his fork.

"Well, I board at Dalton Academy. I sing and dance. I like to watch Disney movies," he rattled, listing off his interests as if they were nothing. Burt stared at him incredulously.

"Son, I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you gay?"

Kurt held his fork, frozen in place, and Blaine was holding his breath. Kurt noticed his slight discomfort and reached for his hand under the table, giving it a slight squeeze.

"Yes, sir," Blaine responded.

The two adolescents heard sighs of relief and looked up at both Burt and Carole in confusion.

"Well that's good, you take care of my son, you hear? And stop with the 'sir' stuff; makes me feel like an old man," Burt responded, eating away at his food as if he hadn't nearly caused the dapper gentleman that Kurt brought home to nearly panic.

Blaine nodded and looked over to Kurt, still confused. He only offered him a warm smile and another reassuring squeeze with his hand. Blaine looked up at Finn and saw he was also smiling at him.

So when Kurt had said that his dad accepted him warmly, he _really_ meant warmly.

Oh yes, Blaine could get used to this.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Blaine gets to meet the family~! <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay! So, posting this today woo! How is you Valentine's day going? I hope you're enjoying it! **

**Special thanks of course to my beta Jessica~! Go follow her! Tumblr: harrypotter-meets-glee-r5 (.) tumblr (.) com and twitter: ohaayitsjessii. She's really chill, you won't regret it!**

**So this is an important chapter! Finally got it out! Woo!**

**Diclaimer: I sadly don't own Glee :P**

* * *

><p>If the stress wasn't already killing him, this time of year definitely was.<p>

Pinks and whites and reds all in an incestuous heap of hues poured from every hallway, store, and pretty much just everywhere in general. Kurt imagined that he wouldn't mind so much if he had a special someone to spend it with. He sighed, glanced at the picture of Blaine he had stuck in his locker, and smiled.

After the 6th date, the two had practically grown at the hip. They thought it was impossible to get closer to each other. There was something about Anderson that brightened Kurt's day at the thought of him. Yes, he was a bit naïve. Yes, he was a little kid sometimes and still watched Disney movies _all_ the time. All of it was true, but Kurt didn't mind. He found it adorable. Although the other's budget freaked him out from time to time, Blaine told him he needn't worry about it.

He shut his locker and sighed dramatically. He had been trying to push a particular thought away for the past few weeks, but he could compare his problem to Hercules's Hydra (Blaine had made him watch Hercules the other night and it was still stuck in his head). The more he tried to deny it, the more difficult pushing it away had become.

He loved Blaine Anderson.

He began to walk down the hallway. He was just released for lunch, and he pulled out his phone, which had become a habit over the past few weeks. He wasn't expecting any texts from Blaine yet, since Dalton still had a good 10 minutes of class time before their lunch break started, and Blaine was in Physics. Surprisingly though, his phone buzzed.

_Wanna go out tonight? I have something to tell you – Blaine_

Kurt's heart skipped a beat.

_Absolutely! It seems important if you're texting in Physics ;) And you don't have to keep adding your name at the end. I know it's you._

_Alright. But should I have called then?_ Kurt rolled his eyes when he read, but he blushed.

_As much as I would love to hear your voice, I don't think I'd risk Mr. Davis suspending you._

Kurt pocketed his phone as he walked into the cafeteria. It was a war zone here, and as much as he wanted to be able to stroll through, this was the biggest congregation of jocks in the school, let alone the slushie machine's location. Find food, find jocks.

He set his sights on the New Direction table, targeting Rachel's obnoxiously loud voice and making a bee line towards it, hoping he wouldn't get intercepted.

However, today, luck was not on his side.

"Hey, Hummel!"

Kurt shut his eyes at the familiar voice calling from behind him. He knew ignoring them would bring bad news. He turned and was hit with an icy wall of red dye 6.

They couldn't even go with blue to match his pants. Even when bullying, the jocks are so tasteless.

"That one's from our home boy, pixie stix," Azimio growled.

Pixie stix? That was a new one. Kudos for creativity.

Kurt opened his eyes and glared at them. He tried to be slightly intimidating even though he knew who they were talking about and he was terrified. He scowled.

They were talking about Karofsky.

"Yeah, lady boy. He's getting out today. Can't wait to have him back in the halls," another jock said.

Kurt paled, skin completely white against the red slushie.

Karofsky was coming back? He had been let out early?

This wasn't happening. His head swam with memories he had gone so long without touching, and a dull throb found itself behind his eyes. He didn't really notice or care that people were staring. He didn't care that red dye was staining his clothes. All he could think, hear, and see was Karofsky.

He was coming back, and Kurt had to run.

* * *

><p>"Kurt?"<p>

"_Hey B-Blaine_."

An alarm had sounded in Blaine's head when hearing Kurt's tone. He had stuttered like he was crying. Or scared. He stopped in the hallways, causing all his friends to look at him.

They were on their way to Warbler practice since school had just let out, and he was very surprised to receive a call from Kurt. He knew Warbler practice was on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" he questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. David had started to say something, but Blaine held up a hand to keep him silenced.

"_I-I just…I d-don't know_," the other muttered in a strained tone. "_I wanted t-to call earlier, but…b-but, um…_" Blaine heard sniffling on the other line before a choked sob.

"Kurt, where are you?" he asked, worried for the safety of his companion. All the terrible possibilities flashed in his mind. Dark alleyway, some other state, and the worst: 'I don't know'.

By now the other Warblers were looking at him with a mixture of confusion and worry on their faces.

"_A s-storage closet at school...I-I think. It's….uhm. J-just…_" Blaine's heart broke as he listened to the other boy stutter. "_God, I-I'm so s-sorry…I shouldn'tve-_"

"No, no. Ssh. Calm down. You did the right thing by calling me. I'll come get you."

Blaine's companions looked between themselves. The shorter boy was their lead singer and now he was walking down the hallway.

"Bla-!"

"Leave it," Wes interrupted, cutting Jeff off. "No Warbler meeting today," the Asian said, running a hand through his short hair. The others sighed but it was only the logical answer since Blaine was now leaving the school.

"_I'm sorry,_" Kurt said between sobs.

"There's no need to apologize; it's alright," Blaine cooed, trying to console the other through the cellular device. He walked out into the brisk air and sprinted to his car to start the drive to Lima.

"_It's. It's just…_" another sob, "_we w-were supposed t-to go out a-and I've ruined it_," he cried. Blaine tried to bite back his own tears in hearing how badly Kurt was broken.

"You didn't ruin it," Blaine coaxed. "It's fine, Kurt. Ssh. Do you want to talk about it?"

Blaine heard a sharp intake of air on the other line, and when Kurt spoke, his voice dropped in volume.

"_N-not right now…I don't- I d-don't think I c-can do it without you h-here_," Blaine shuddered.

"Alright, I'm on my way. Can I stay on the phone?"

"_Please._"

The one word sounded so lost and broken. So full of dejection. Blaine gripped his steering wheel tighter. He was going to strangle the person who did this to Kurt. Kind and innocent Kurt, who was stronger than anyone Blaine knew, and whoever was sick enough to break him down like this…

Well, let's just say they now had a _very_ pissed off Blaine Anderson coming after them.

"_C-could you…?_" Blaine snapped out of his daze when he heard the soft, cracked voice from the receiver.

"Yes?" he asked gently, burying down his rage to urge Kurt to go on.

"_C-could you s-sing? To me?_" Blaine smiled and Kurt continued talking. "_I know i-it sounds silly, y-you don't have t-to, b-but-_"

"It's alright," he interrupted. "Any preferences?" he asked, humming while he pondered. Kurt murmured a soft 'no', so, taking a deep breath, Blaine sang the first song that came to mind.

_I walked across an empty land_

_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_

_I felt the earth beneath my feet_

_Sat by the river and it made me complete_

_Oh, simple thing where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_

_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_

Kurt felt his chest tighten from the voice coming through the phone. His tears halted and he resigned himself to slight hiccups.

_I came across a fallen tree_

_I felt the branches of it looking at me_

_Is this the place we used to love?_

_Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?_

_Oh, simple thing where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_

_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_

_And if you have a minute why don't we go_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don't we go_

_Somewhere only we know_

_Somewhere only we know?_

_Oh, simple thing where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_

_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_

_And if you have a minute why don't we go_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know_

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don't we go_

_Somewhere only we know?_

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don't we go_

_Somewhere only we know_

_Somewhere only we know_

_Somewhere only we know_

Kurt's sniffling had died down, and the two sat in a brief silence as Blaine drove.

"Should I sing another?" he asked, although he already knew the answer to the question.

"_Yes please_."

* * *

><p>The car ride consisted of lots of singing and very few light jokes. Blaine cleared his throat when he pulled into the McKinley parking lot.<p>

"Kurt, you're going to have to direct me where to go," he said, opening the main doors, which were miraculously unlocked.

"_I don't know exactly where I'm at_," Kurt mumbled from the other end. Blaine sighed and Kurt spoke up again. "_I have an idea_," he started. "_We could sing a duet and you could follow my voice_."

"Geez. Are you trying to make up for me skipping Warbler practice?" Kurt laughed airily on the other end.

"_How about we sing a Valentine's song? Since this sickly holiday is everywhere_."

Excellent. Blaine had the perfect song.

"_L" is for the way you look at me_

Kurt, from his dark and confined space, smiled lightly. He knew the song even though Blaine had slowed it down, and he sang as well, picking up the second line.

"_O" is for the only one I see_

They both then sang together in harmony.

"_V" is very, very extraordinary_

"_E" is even more than anyone that you adore_

_Love-_

"_How you move me." _Blaine cut it, light and feathery.

_-is all that I can give to you_

_See right through me._

Blaine could hear the faint echo and ducked into a specific hallway from where he heard Kurt right as they split again.

_Love-_

_Love is all I need_

_-is more than just a game for two_

_And you are the one that I've always dreamed of_

They continued with the call and response. Blaine could hear Kurt's voice clearer and the phone was notably a little off.

_Two in love can make it_

_Take me heart and please don't break it_

_Love was made for me and you_

Kurt drawled out his breath as he could hear Blaine's voice coming closer. His smile widened, and the two of them began harmonizing again.

_Love, love, love_

_Yes, it's love_

_Love, love, love_

_That's right_

_Oh, love is for the way you look at me_

_You know we were meant to be_

_Love is for the only one I see_

_From here to eternity_

Blaine was glad that no one else was in the school. He didn't know how they'd fair with a Dalton student wandering their halls and singing like he owned the place. He was realizing how perfectly the two of them sounded together and was correct with the epiphany he had in Physics.

"_V" is very, very extraordinary_

"_E" is even more than anyone that you adore_

_Love is all that I can give to you_

_I love everything you do_

A blush spread across Kurt's face as he sang, his heart pumping the blood so rapidly through his veins. What was this? He had never felt this way while singing, and hearing the other perfectly smooth voice exalted him. He had to admit; this really was-

_Love is more than just a game or two_

_I wanna get next you _

_Two in love can make it_

_Take my heart and please don't break it love_

_Was made for me and you, yes it's true_

By now, both boys could hear each other without the phones. They were close and Blaine fought to control his breath as he became flustered. He neared the door Kurt was behind.

_Love, love, love_

_Yes, it's love_

_Love, love, love_

_That's right_

_Its-_

Blaine removed the bar that locked the door and flung it open.

"-Love."

The word was breathed out so easily by the two of them. Too easily, but helping Kurt was the priority right now.

Seeing him brought a whole new sensation of flutters into Blaine's stomach. His eyes and lips were red and puffy from crying, and his face was pale with red splotches from colored dye streaked by his tears. His clothes had dried and stiffened and overall, he looked a mess, but Blaine had never seen him so beautiful.

"Hey stranger," Kurt croaked softly, gulping down the remnants of his tears. Blaine pocketed his phone and sat down beside Kurt. The taller boy instantly curled into his side, wrapping his arms around Blaine's torso and laying his head on Blaine's chest. He fit there so perfectly, as if he was born to fit on Blaine's side his entire life. Blaine wrapped his arms protectively around Kurt and treaded his fingers through the older boy's chestnut locks. Kurt hummed in content, steadying his breath and beating heart.

"You have dried slushie in your hair," Blaine said lightly as he worked on freeing the unnaturally sticky hairs from skewed positions. Kurt groaned.

"Don't remind me."

Blaine smiled. Hearing Kurt so exasperated about his appearance almost made it seem like nothing was wrong and that they were just sitting in a closet because they wanted to.

Almost.

"Why are you in here?" Blaine asked, breaking the silent spell they had cast and falling back into reality. Kurt sighed and shifted slightly, staying put in Blaine's warm embrace.

"It's a long story…" he mumbled, busying his hands with picking at the hem of Blaine's blazer.

He shrugged. "I've got time."

"Have you ever heard of David Karofsky?" Blaine instantly went rigid.

"Yeah. That guy who attacked another student just because he was gay," Blaine growled. When he had heard about the trial on the television, he was disgusted. Not only was an anonymous kid (whoever was attacked wished to not release his name) brutally abused and left to die, but to think it happened in Ohio! The only positive thing from the whole trial was that, because Karofsky was 18, he was tried as an adult and put in jail, not just given a slap on the wrist and community service. Kurt smiled sadly, touched that Blaine was so adamant about it.

"Karofsky…he was a student at McKinley. It was the only way that h-he knew…"

Blaine felt the air leave him when Kurt trailed off and realization hit him.

"Kurt…" he whispered. Said boy looked down in embarrassment, and Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's lithe frame and held him tightly. Kurt returned the embrace and found tears stinging at his eyes again as he let down his walls. He was so sick of crying, but he couldn't help himself.

"Let it out," Blaine murmured as Kurt sobbed into his shoulder. His words were indecipherable as he tried to pour out his story in between sobs. Blaine held him tightly, holding back the tears that dared to escape him at the heart wrenching sound of Kurt's sobs. He silently wished he could coax away the pain.

"It isn't _fair_! H-he did s-so much and he r-ruined everything!" Kurt cried, choking on his own words. Blaine rubbed the other's back and chased away his own tears. He had to stay strong. For Kurt.

"He's in jail, he can't touch you," Blaine whispered. Kurt clutched his blazer tighter. His hands fisting the material in any attempt to hold on to the most positive aspect of his life.

"He got let out today. He's coming back, Blaine." The words came in a strained whisper but Blaine heard him and he couldn't believe his ears.

Had they not cared that Kurt had been hospitalized for months because of what Karofsky had done? McKinley was jeopardizing the life of their students. Kurt was still sputtering words.

"H-he was supposed to stay in until he w-was twenty. _Twenty_! And he w-wasn't even in there f-for the worst o-of it! He r-ruined _everything_!"

Blaine was instantly confused by what Kurt meant by "the worst of it".

"Kurt," Blaine said, pulling Kurt away from him so that he could look into his watery eyes. "Did he do more than….than the attempted murder?"

Kurt nearly panicked. Yes. Karofsky had done much worse, but Kurt had never told anyone. He was too afraid of what would happen to him and what people thought of him. He chose not to acknowledge that it happened. But when he looked into Blaine's hazel eyes, he realized that he might be able to tell him. Blaine wasn't here to judge him. He had experienced the hate crimes too, and he wouldn't think any less of him.

He nodded slowly, and he could hear Blaine's mind working in search for a way to word his next question.

"Did he…?"

Kurt looked down in shame. He was tainted and polluted. He was robbed of something so precious that he didn't even want to give to Karofsky.

"Kurt-"

"I'm so sick of crying, Blaine." He looked back up to Blaine's livid eyes. "I hate caring so much, a-and I _hate him_-"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Blaine interjected, but Kurt didn't skip a beat with his rebuttal.

"Because he would kill me!"

A silence rang through the room.

"You're the only one I've told because he threatened to kill me if I told anyone," he said, clutching his pants. "And I've had to walk around _every_ day knowing that I'd been violated, and that _no one _cared. He took _everything_! He stole my first kiss, my security, my _virginity_, Blaine. And I've had to leave with accepting that I'm the f-filth that c-can't e-even admi-it to the p-police th-that…"

Blaine pulled him into another tight hug and let his own tears spill over his cheeks.

How could another human being even do something like that? To leave someone so broken and not even care about how they felt.

"You are _not_ filth, Kurt. I want you to understand that right now. You will _never_ be filth. What Karofsky did was terrible and wrong, but it does not make you any less special." Kurt sobbed continuously into Blaine's shoulder.

"I wanted t-to give it to someone special," he cried. "I w-wanted to give it to y-you!"

Blaine screwed his eyes shut. He had never heard such a painful confession.

"That's alright, I'm right here," he hushed. He really was glad that Kurt seemed to reciprocate his feelings, but now was not the time for that. He had to make sure Kurt was alright.

Kurt calmed his tears a little and pulled away from Blaine.

"I'm so sorry. You probably didn't want to hear that, and now I've put all this pressure on you," Kurt scoffed, the action obviously directed to berating himself. Blaine smiled slightly and put his hand on Kurt's cheek.

"Kurt, I love you. But right now, I just want to make sure you're okay." He kissed the other's forehead. "Is that alright?"

Kurt felt a new wave of tears forming and he shook his head, not trusting his own voice, and wrapped his arms tightly around Blaine, crying softer than earlier.

"I haven't even told my dad yet," he whispered. Blaine started running his fingers through the other's hair again.

After a long moment of silence, Blaine spoke up again.

"Why are you here, Kurt?" Blaine asked, taking Kurt's hand with his free one.

"Because they threw me in here," he responded.

"No, I meant at this school." Kurt looked up at him. "They treat you so badly here, and Karofsky is coming back."

Kurt didn't ignore Blaine's bitter tone. "But the New Directions are here…"

"I know, and I also know that my opinion doesn't really matter-"

"It does matter." Blaine nearly smiled at the finality in the other's voice. "Your opinions matter so much to me, Blaine, because…." Kurt paused and bit his lip. "Because I love you, too, Blaine."

Blaine kissed Kurt's cheek.

"I know that your friends are here, but what if Karofsky returns, and he doesn't stop messing with you?" he asked, rubbing his thumb along Kurt's knuckles.

It was clear Blaine was aggravated. He could easily tell anyone that Kurt had become a large influence over his life (and his iTunes playlist), and he wouldn't watch him crumble under the power of a bully. He had seen too many people fall simply because of their sexuality. "Are you willing to take that chance?"

Kurt stared at their conjoined hands.

"No. But where am I supposed to go? To another school where I can just broaden the antagonists for hate crime?" Kurt asked. He really didn't want to stay at McKinley. Yes, he loved the New Directions, but there was little to non outside of that.

Blaine bit his lip.

"This is just a suggestion, but maybe you could come to Dalton?" he said lightly. "We have a no bully policy, and everyone is more accepting. You'd be safe."

"But it's so expensive," Kurt mumbled.

The idea actually wasn't that bad. He knew some people there already, he could sing with the Warblers, and he could be himself without having to worry. It's just that the money…

"I'll help." Kurt looked up at Blaine in surprise.

"Blaine, you can't-"

"Of course I can," he said, smiling. "If it guarantees your safety, I'll pay the tuition and the room and board fee."

"Blaine…"

Said boy stood, ignoring the protests from Kurt.

"Why don't you let me take you home? I don't think all that sugar is good for your skin," he said. Kurt nodded and they left the storage closet.

Things were far from great, but walking through the deserted hallways with his hand tucked perfectly in Blaine's, he knew everything was going to work out in some way. He knew the pieces would fall into place just right, and they were already starting to drop.

* * *

><p><strong>So a few notes! <strong>

**I typed up this chapter and they were singing L-O-V-E because on Feb. 2 and 3, I sang the bassline in the SATB show choir arrangement of it at our choir concert! I'm so happy that Tina and Mike are singing it tonight!**

**Also, I know it's REALLY bad, but I hadn't listened to "Somewhere Only We Know" until a few days ago! But now I love it so much!**

**Reviews please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: And two chapters today because I LOVE YOU GUYS~! Please send me your love~? :'D I'd love if you guys dropped me an ask on Tumblr (seerofdespair) or Twitter NikoBoussniere or reviewed with some lovin~!**

**I meant to post the first 3 chapters of my Niff fanfiction today that goes parallel to this, but idk. It might be a bit late. It's my brother's birthday today so I can't really make much headway. Plus babysitting and Glee :P**

**Disclaimer: If ONLY I owned Glee.**

* * *

><p>A shrill scream woke the Hudmel household on February 14 at 2 A.M. in the morning.<p>

More specifically, it woke Finn, who had been sleeping peacefully in his bed. He wasn't expecting the high-pitched noise to assault his ears, and he wasn't expecting his step-brother to fly into his room and cling to him like a baby koala.

A shivering, sobbing baby koala.

"Woah, woah. What happened?" Burt asked frantically, entering Finn's room holding his shotgun.

"It's nothing. I think Kurt just had a nightmare," Finn answered a bit groggily, holding out his arms since it would be kinda awkward to embrace and cuddle Kurt. Burt sighed.

"Hey, bud, are you gonna be okay?" Burt asked, taking steps towards the two boys. Carole had also come and was standing in Finn's doorway.

"I-I'm fine. Sorry for waking you up," Kurt muttered, trying to quell his tears. Burt looked at him skeptically before turning and ushering Carole out of the room.

"Night, Kurt. Get some sleep," he said before closing the door.

By time he left, Kurt had quelled his tears and pulled away from Finn, settling on the edge of his bed and shaking.

"Dude, are you okay?" Finn asked, placing his hand on Kurt's shoulder. The shorter boy flinched away from the touch.

"I-I'm fine…" he said. Finn tried not to scoff at the obvious lie. He rubbed his eye and finally noticed the smell of iron.

"No you aren't!" Finn said, inspecting Kurt to find out where he was bleeding. It was his arm. It was clawed open, and the skin around the wound was red and angry. He groaned, and Kurt looked down shamefully.

"That's it. I'm calling a therapist," Finn resounded, standing up, albeit fumbling a bit as he found control to his feet, and crossing the room to where his cell phone was.

"No! You can't call a therapist!" Kurt argued, getting up to tug at Finn's arm.

"What do you want me to do?" Finn snapped.

Saying that the jock was angry was an understatement. He had already sat back and watched terrible things happen to Kurt without trying to stop it, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He was so sick of just doing nothing when Kurt was physically harming himself. He couldn't stand to see it.

"Let me call Blaine…" Kurt muttered, taking Finn's phone from his hand.

"What's Blaine gonna do?" he asked lowly, knowing that there was some reason behind Kurt's suggestion but not knowing what it was.

"I can only sleep when he's with me," he said, looking into Finn's eyes and hoping for the understanding.

He didn't like it. He didn't like admitting he wasn't able to help Kurt but some barista at the Lima Bean was. But if it's what Kurt needed, then Finn wouldn't keep him from it.

"I'll go get you some water or something." And with that, the taller boy left the room.

Surrounded in darkness, Kurt could feel the panic constrict his chest. His gaze darted around as he quickly punched in Blaine's number. He was all alone, sitting in this dark, empty room, and he could feel his subconscious working to torture him again. Those hollowed, rotten eyes. The stench of decay. With each moment they crept up on him, and his breathing became labored as the phone rang.

"Please, please, please answer," he mumbled, the mantra keeping his mind preoccupied as he attempted to block out the inevitable terrors by screwing his eyes shut.

"_Hullo?_"

"Blaine! Thank god," Kurt sighed, feeling his uneasiness ebb away at the sound of the other's groggy voice.

"_It's 2:16. What's wrong, dear?_" Blaine said a bit clearer now that he was waking up. Kurt's heart skipped at the pet name.

He didn't know how he was supposed to word everything. His judgment was hazy and his mind was shot.

"I just…I just really need you right now," he said in a whisper, curling into a corner of Finn's room.

"_Shit…okay. I'm on my way. Can you wait 30 minutes? Should I stay on the phone?_" Blaine questioned, the interrogation running on and on. Kurt giggled a little.

"Watch your mouth, Warbler. Yeah it can wait. I can wait for you to get here; Finn will keep me occupied until then," he answered, already feeling heaps better with just the phone call.

"_Sorry, and alright. I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?_"

Kurt smiled and stood up, actually deciding it would be best to get out of the darkness. Might as well do something since he was up.

"That's fine, I'll see you when you get here," Kurt hummed, leaving Finn's room and walking down the hallway quietly.

"_Okay. I love you._"

Kurt froze.

Sure he had told him that before, but that was in the closet, and things were kind of emotional. Color rushed to his cheeks as the gravity of his words sunk in.

"I love you, too," he answered, walking down the stairs, although his legs were like jelly.

"_I'll see you soon. Bye_."

"Bye."

Kurt hung up the phone and entered the kitchen, where Finn was attempting to make coffee.

"So he's coming over?" Finn said, not taking his fixed gaze off of the coffee mix container.

"Yeah," Kurt said breathlessly, walking over to the counter and taking the container from Finn's hands.

"Do you have a fever? Your face is pretty red," Finn said, starting to search the cabinets for a thermometer.

"No, I don't. And would you just sit down? You're doing five things at once," Kurt ordered, measuring out the right amount of coffee and starting the coffee maker. Finn sighed and sat down at the table.

"Alright. But why call Blaine? I mean, I understand he's your friend and everything…"

"Well," Kurt started. "I don't know what it is, but whenever I always fall asleep around him, I never have nightmare." He leaned against the counter and looked down at his feet.

"So Blaine, like, chases all the bad guys away?" Finn asked, running his hand through his hair.

Kurt snorted. "If you wanna look at it that way." His gaze went over to the clock on the stove. Silence engulfed the two, and after ten minutes of no conversation, Finn stood up.

"I think I'll head back to-"

"Wait!" Kurt said frantically, grabbing Finn's arm. Looking into those glasz eyes, he could see all the fear that was normally masked.

"A-at least until Blaine gets here. Please," he begged. Finn sighed and sat back down at the table. No one could refuse a groveling Kurt. Mainly because he never begged or pleaded with anyone, so seeing him so low just to ask for social company definitely trumped any argument.

"How's French coming?" Finn asked, not really knowing how to start a conversation with the other boy.

"It's fine. The class is struggling with the future tense. _Tu sais. 'J'irai au petit magasin pour voir Cynthia.'_ Yadda yadda," he said, flawlessly flipping his French and English. Finn stared at him.

"Don't try to comprehend, Finn. You barely understand when people are speaking English," Kurt said jokingly, hopping up and sitting on the counter.

"I do too!" Finn rebutted, sitting up straight. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, an action that was becoming his signature.

"Oh really? 'My mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun-'"

"What's a mistress?" Finn asked. Kurt only smirked.

"I thought you understood when people spoke English, Finn." The taller boy only groaned.

"You can't go spewing that Old English crap!"

"Well, it wasn't Old English. Shakespeare was a Modern English playwright. The original _Beowulf_ was Old English, and it was closer to garble than a coherent language," Kurt scoffed, inspecting his nails in a flippant manner.

"Dude, you have _got_ to stop hanging out with those prep school boys. I could understand better when you talked about that musical, _Evil_."

"Do you mean _Wicked_?" Kurt asked, hoping that he didn't mean _Wicked_.

"Yeah. The one with the ogre lady."

Kurt only stared at his step-brother in shock. He was so culturally challenged, and Kurt was living under the same roof as him.

"First of all. Elpheba is _not_ an ogre! She's a misunderstood-"

Their conversation was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Kurt held his breath. That had to be Blaine.

"Well, I guess I'll turn in now. Night, Kurt," Finn called, dashing up the stairs before Kurt could stop him. Or give him a play-by-play of another musical. Really. He had enough of that by listening to Rachel.

Kurt went to open the door and embraced Blaine.

"I missed you," he mumbled into Blaine's shoulder. He heard a light chuckle.

"I missed you too." They held each other for a few minutes before breaking away. Blaine cupped Kurt's cheek with his hand, and Kurt nuzzled into the contact.

"What happened?" Blaine asked, worry etching his features. Kurt looked away from Blaine, and it was then Blaine noticed the gash on his arm.

"Oh my _god,_ Kurt! What _happened_?" he asked, obviously panicking at the sight of Kurt physically injured.

"Ssh. Come help me get it cleaned up and I'll tell you," he said solemnly, pulling Blaine into the bathroom and running some water.

Blaine knew there was something wrong. Those sleepless eyes and the dark circles should have given it away that there wasn't something right, but Blaine just ignored it. He knew that Kurt was too pale and that his fidgety attitude and jumpiness weren't traits he was just gifted with.

"Who did this to you?" Blaine asked as Kurt started pulling down antiseptics and bandages. He didn't answer, only focusing his attention on getting everything settled.

Blaine waited patiently for Kurt to start talking. He had waited this long, he could wait a little longer.

"I did it."

"What?" The shock on Blaine's face would have been hilarious if this were a laughing matter. Kurt swallowed and repeated himself.

"I did it. I wasn't aware but…" he shivered and Blaine pulled the taller boy into his arms.

"How about you take your shirt off? We can talk while I help you," the shorter boy said lightly, gently pushing Kurt to sit on the toilet lid. Kurt did as he was told and unbuttoned his shirt.

The other's torso made Blaine take in a sharp breath.

Yes, he had the most perfect toned chest with sinewy muscles rippling under soft skin. His skin was so milky and smooth, so akin to porcelain. But what surprised Blaine most were the scars that peppered his chest. They looked like claw marks and they terrified him.

He dipped a cotton ball into the hydrogen peroxide and knelt down to dab at Kurt's arm. The countertenor hissed in pain at the sharp sting of the chemicals, but quickly quieted down.

Kurt chose to speak first.

"My guidance counselor calls it sleep paralysis," he started, voice low and shaky. Blaine nodded for him to continue as he cleared away all the dried blood on Kurt's forearm.

"It's when your body and mind fall asleep but you're still conscious about things going on around you. I tend to…" Kurt took a deep breath. "Hallucinate. Badly. A-and…"

"It's alright," Blaine said, wrapping his arms comfortingly around the other boy.

"It's terrifying. I rarely ever sleep because when I do, _they're _there and it's driving me crazy!"

Blaine pressed a light kiss to his temple. Those few words explained a lot, and Blaine was going to be as supportive as possible.

"We'll get through this, Kurt. Did your counselor tell you anything else?" he asked, as consoling as he could muster.

"She said that there wasn't a cure for it. And that…usually repressing a traumatic experience…" he trailed off, mumbling the rest of his sentence.

"Hmm?"

"It's Karofsky." The name sent a horrifying shiver up his spine. "I haven't ever opened up about it."

"Kurt, what does he have to do with your sleep paralysis?" Blaine asked, pulling away from his embrace.

"Ms. Pillsbury said sleep paralysis is related to narcolepsy and your subconscious trying to bring up traumatic experiences you don't want to face," Kurt said. Blaine decided at that moment that he didn't want to look at the nasty wound on Kurt's arm and grabbed the bandages to wrap it up.

"So talking about it will make you feel better hopefully?" Blaine asked, leaning his back against the bathtub behind him.

"Yeah. That…and you," Kurt said, looking at Blaine from behind long eyelashes. The other smiled.

"Me?" he asked, running his fingers through his messy locks. Kurt didn't really notice it before, but he really liked the way Blaine's hair looked down. It was much more relaxing and very attractive.

"Yeah. You know how you let me borrow your jacket the other day?" Kurt asked, his cheeks slightly coloring.

"Ah. I wondered where that went." Kurt smiled.

"I kind of…slept with it. And those nights that I did, I was able to go to sleep without….y'know," he said bashfully.

"That is adorable," Blaine responded, taking Kurt's hands in his own.

"And I fell asleep in your car that one time," he added. It was truly as if Blaine was his midnight terror panacea.

"Now I'm starting to see why you invited me." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Sorry for waking you up this early," he said, running his thumb over Blaine's knuckles. The younger boy shrugged.

"I planned on spending Valentine's Day with you anyways. A few extra hours aren't anything to complain about."

They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, both knowing that they wanted the same thing in that moment but neither was daring enough to initiate it.

"Is it alright if I…"

"Please."

The two boys leaned in closer and pressed their lips against each other. Fireworks exploded behind closed eyelids, and all the cliché feelings that neither of them wholeheartedly thought happened were felt, making believers out of the two young boys. They kissed, soft lips rubbing against each other perfectly, for a few moments before they pulled away for air. Kurt smiled and rested their foreheads together.

"That was amazing, but I'm really tired. Can we sleep now?" Kurt whispered. Blaine kissed the tip of his nose.

"Yeah. Show me the way."

Kurt stood up and helped Blaine to his feet, the two not dropping their hands as they walked to Kurt's bedroom.

"I never thought I'd actually see the day where Kurt Hummel was leading me to his bedroom shirtless," Blaine joked as the door shut behind him. Kurt nudged him in the ribs, causing the curly-haired man to grab his side in mock agony. Kurt only walked over to his bed and plopped down on it. Blaine followed suit and tucked himself comfortably beside Kurt on the opposite side of the bed, earning him a pout.

"Blaine."

"Yes, darling?"

Kurt blushed at the name. "I wanna spoon. What are you doing over there?"

Blaine smiled and crawled over closer to Kurt.

"Only if I get to be the big spoon," Blaine reasoned, placing a kiss on Kurt's forehead. Now that he was allowed to kiss the older boy, he was going to make up a lifetime's worth of kisses, because that's how long Blaine reasoned he should have known Kurt for. A lifetime.

Kurt rolled over and faced the wall. "I wouldn't picture it any other way."

* * *

><p>Finn easily covered for Kurt, telling Burt that Kurt was sick and just needed sleep and shouldn't be bothered. Burt, of course, trusted him and headed off to the garage, unknowingly leaving his son and the object of his affection at the house alone.<p>

Not that it was a problem. Kurt knew to be on his best behavior. And he pretty much slept all day anyway.

When Blaine had woken up, Kurt was still sleeping like he was dead, not stirring. He settled with cuddling Kurt and memorizing all of his physical details. He could pick out some scars on his neck, and a few yellow tinted spots from healing bruises. Blaine sighed. He knew that Kurt needed his sleep so he didn't attempt to rouse him. He was, however, becoming worried that Kurt might sleep the whole day away and that the special plans he made for Valentine's Day would go to waste.

Of course, if Kurt _did_ sleep the day away, Blaine wouldn't mind. Who knew when Kurt was able to get a good night's sleep?

At around 1 in the afternoon, Kurt began squirming and he turned around, cuddling closer into Blaine's chest.

"Hey, beautiful. Are you up?" Blaine said, running his fingers through Kurt's hair.

"Sadly," he responded, taking a deep breath of Blaine's scent. "I haven't slept like that in months."

Blaine tried to ignore the pang in his heart from the truthfulness of the statement.

"If you're feeling up to it, I had a date arranged for tonight," Blaine mumbled, neither of them moving out of the embrace.

It took a few moments for gears to kick into place, and Kurt remembered it was Valentine's Day. He shot up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I totally forgot! I probably ruined it didn't I?" he said, starting to panic. Blaine sat up and wrapped his arms around the other.

"No, it's fine. They weren't until later. It's only 1," Blaine said, resting his chin on Kurt's shoulder. The countertenor visibly sighed in relief.

"Well alright, give me some time and we can go out. Does my dad know you're here?" Kurt asked, crawling out of bed and stretching.

"I don't think so. Finn said something about you being sick and not going to school so he shouldn't bother you." Kurt clicked his tongue at the information and yawned.

"Well alright then. I'll call my dad and tell him I'm feeling better and that we're going out tonight. I have to take a shower first…" Kurt said, inspecting his body.

"Well, I'll be here. Not eagerly waiting your return," Blaine said with a smirk, leaning against Kurt's wall.

"Oh, Blaine Anderson, how you wound me," Kurt said, clutching at his chest dramatically.

He walked to his closet and pulled out the clothes he was going to be wearing that day. He would have to try to keep his shower and bathroom ritual as short as possible, which usually meant he could take anywhere from 45 minutes to and hour and a half. He picked up his phone and sent a text message to his dad, relaying that he would be fine and his plans later on with Blaine and ignored the multiple texts from Rachel and Mercedes asking where he was. He walked into the bathroom and began his rigorous schedule of hygienic duties.

"You know, you could have texted them earlier or something."

"And risk waking you up? No way," Blaine laughed as he cleared out his inbox. Kurt had offered to drive so that he could do just that.

"Well now you've scared your friends halfway to hell," Kurt replied, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Speaking of friends at Dalton. Have you talked to your dad about switching schools?" he asked, looking over at Kurt. The older boy sighed.

"I mentioned it when he was leaving for work and he said we'd have to talk about it later." Blaine settled with that and he pointed at a street for Kurt to turn onto before returning to cleaning out his inbox.

"Where are we even going?" Kurt asked. He didn't really recognize any of the surroundings.

"You'll see when we get there," Blaine answered, not removing his gaze from his phone.

A few more turns and moments later, Kurt was pulling into the parking lot of a fancy restaurant he couldn't even pronounce the name of.

"Blaine!" he squeaked, his wallet hurting just by looking at the cleanly trimmed hedges. They were perfect.

"What? I made reservations so you can't turn me down," Blaine said, stepping out of the car smiling. Kurt took a deep breath, knowing that this was going to steadily become a thing if he was going to court Blaine.

Or was Blaine courting him?

Wait. Were they even courting at all?

Blaine handled the reservation details with the maître d' while Kurt was ogling the insides of the restaurant. It was simply too beautiful to describe.

Blaine took his hand and led them to where the waitress was leading them.

"Am I just going to have to guide you everywhere we go?" Blaine asked playfully as they sat down.

Kurt didn't really hear him. In fact, he couldn't even remember many details from the dinner. It was all just too extravagant and mind-blowing that even his rejuvenated brain couldn't comprehend.

He did remember that the food was delicious, that they sang along with a jazzy Valentine's tune the live entertainment was playing (but Kurt couldn't remember the name of the song for the life of him) and that they ended up kissing outside of Kurt's car.

He might grow to love Valentine's Day.

"Thanks for the date tonight. It was lovely," Kurt said, kissing Blaine on his cheek.

"Not as lovely as you," Blaine retorted, taking Kurt's hand and kissing it like he was some delicate princess.

"Wow, you are so cheesy," Kurt said rolling his eyes. The scarlet on his cheeks notified Blaine that he liked it.

"Well it's true."

Blaine's phone rang and effectively shattered the romantic air. Awesome.

"Hey, Jeff. I'm kinda b-"

Kurt furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Blaine's voice cut off.

"Hey. Jeff, listen- No, no. I'm with Kurt right now," he said, worry lacing his voice. Kurt walked over to him and took his hand.

"I'll tell David. He'll understand. You can stay in my room until I get back, alright?" Blaine said gently. From this distance, Kurt could tell Jeff was crying. Blaine's features suddenly softened.

"I know you do, and it's hard, I know. But I'm pretty sure he's just going through a tough time right now. He treasures you too much to not love you back." Kurt was only more confused.

"Alright, I'll see you later," Blaine said, closing his phone.

"What's wrong with Jeff?" Kurt asked, laying his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"Nick."

"Ah…" The two got into the car, and Kurt pulled out of the parking lot.

"Should I take you back to Dalton?" he asked when he was driving.

"Well, my car is at your place, so we should just go back there."

Oh yeah. Blaine had come over at 2 A.M. He was glad that Blaine had enough foresight to park on the street a few blocks away. Kurt's father never even knew Blaine was there the whole day.

The car ride went swimmingly, as it always did, with light conversation and singing along to Katy Perry or Lady Gaga on the radio. Kurt was upset when they finally pulled into his driveway.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Blaine said, climbing out of Kurt's car. Kurt pouted, and he turned the car off and shut his door.

"Yeah; I'll still miss you though," he pouted. Blaine gave him a sweet but chaste kiss on his lips.

"So will I, but we'll see each other soon, alright?"

Kurt nodded. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Blaine smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day," and he kissed Kurt again before trotting over to his car.

Kurt stifled a defeated sigh when he watched Blaine leave and entered his house.

"Hey, kiddo. How was it?" Burt asked when Kurt sat down on the couch beside where his father was watching football.

"It was fine," he said. He then bit his lip. Now was the perfect time to tell his father. "Dad, I have to tell you something."

Burt sighed and turned off the TV.

"I knew it'd come soon enough. So you and Blaine, huh?"

Kurt blushed.

"N-no! I mean, yeah, but I need to talk to you about something else, too," Kurt said, looking down at his lap.

"Well, shoot."

Kurt took a deep breath.

"Dad. You remember Karofsky, right?"

Burt nodded, and Kurt noticed a stitch appear between his eyebrows.

"Well, there are some things I haven't told you…"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh cliffhangers. A tragedy that was introduced to writers for some reason. Please review~! I love them and I love you! Happy Valentine's day! 3<strong>


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